So do Pigs and Swine
by Update Bug
Summary: 12 years ago Yondu got a clue. Since then he's been playing a dangerous game of cat and mouse - trying to get to Ego's kids before Ego does. Exiled from the Ravagers his crew is made up of the couple of adults dumb enough or loyal enough to want to stay, and the kids he got to first. Then Ego catches up.
1. Chapter 1

The ship was in chaos. The crew, a motley bunch of 50 odd half-breeds and half-siblings roamed the halls. Their ages ranged from infancy to early adulthood and, with the official hierarchy removed, they'd descended into chaos. Teenagers ran the halls, arms loaded with toolkits, bandages, younger siblings. An alarm blared overhead. Lights flashed. As if they could've somehow missed the juddering screech as they'd torn the ship free.

Someone shrieked, the shrill caw of a bird and Peter flattened himself to the railing as Chii was sent flying over his head, wings flapping gracelessly and snake tail whipping round. Lana launched herself after him, knocking him to the floor as the two hissed and spat at each other a flurry of limbs and scales and fins. Peter carefully edged round them. There was only one person who could reliably split up the wonder twins when they got into it and he was in the medbay, Maris and Doc doing their level best to stick together the mess that their … _Father_ … had made of his insides. Not to mention what he'd done to Kraglin.

Peter shook the thought off, hurrying down the corridor. There was less chaos down here. Not many of his siblings were up here. He only had to push his way through thick smoke, not crowds. He stopped in front of a familiar door, typing in the passcode. The door hissed open, the captain's chair loomed invitingly in the centre.

The captain and first mate were out of commission. The ship was barely limping along, belching plumes of black smoke into the void of space. And his siblings were throwing down in the corridor.

Peter grinned, flipped up his collar and sat his Walkman firmly over his ears. "I got this."

"I do not got this!"

"You do not have what, brother Peter? I you refer to your control of the ship, that much is obvious. Our crash landing is imminent. If you are referring to one of your other many defects however –"

"Not heping, Haraxs." Peter snapped, pulling on what he hoped was the break as Spirit in the Sky blared through his headphones. "Who starts ragging on someone when they're trying to land a ship anyway? Not like you could fly this damn thing."

Out of the corner of his eye he could see Nayadina shuffling nervously, petals folding and unfolding until her entire form rippled.

He swore and slapped at the controls, trying to find something that would slow them down.

"I told Yondu he should'a taught me to fly this thing. Wiz, got anything?"

The sparking beneath the console stpped for a moment and Wiz stuck his orange head out from beneath it. The goggles he wore were almost completely obscured by grease and he was lucky his hair was black to start with.

"Not a damn thing. We lost 'n engine and we're damaged enough I can't get the backups online, I only jus' got the atmosphere stable."

"This was a terrible plan." Haraks commented, arms crossed.

"Hey!" Peter snapped, drawing on all the maturity of his fourteen year to not punch his brother in the face. "I didn't see you coming up with any bright ideas. The plan is great. The plan is going to work."

Haraks blinked and tilted his head. "The ship is currently disintegrating."

"Yeah, but at least its doin' it inside an atmosphere and not of in the middle of space!"

Haraks opened his mouth, but stopped, wrinkling his mouth and gagging. Peter hissed at the taste of electricity on the back of his tongue and glanced over at his youngest sibling, Glim, barely two standard years old. Her fear buzzed against his lips as she turned the colour of copper and started to corrode the captain's chair. He could not wait until she got big enough for a universal translator.

Something burst beneath the console. Sparks spraying across the cockpit. Peter blinked the after bursts out of his eyes. The control panel was smoking.

"Wiz," Peter dropped to his knees, Wiz wasn't moving "Wiz." Peter pawed at his Ravager's coat tugging his brother onto his back and peering at his face.

"Peter!" Nyadina shrieked.

Peter launched himself upright. Banging his shoulder hard on the way up. The city, Contraxia loomed in the window.

"Aw cr –"

…

Stakar glared at the wreckage of his drink.

Him and his crew had had a good run. Good enough that he'd given his crew the day off and released them on the town. It was a good thing that Contraxia was Ravager friendly cause tonight it was overflowing with them. He'd caught sight of at least two clans aside his own, one of them Nanami's. He hadn't seen the Karanyd in years. They weren't exactly avoiding each other. But they definitely weren't seeking the other out. There was too much history there.

Gods that was a maudlin thought. Stakar was usually a lot further into his drink by the time that started. He hadn't even managed to have one yet. Had barely ordered when a loud crash had torn the bar apart, shockwaves sending everything inside to the floor, tables, people and all.

Stakar glared harder and turned, rolling out a kink in his neck and stomping out of the bar to see what the hell was going on.

A ship had crashed. It had skidded right into the centre of town, leaving long furrows in the snow behind it and now sat on its side in the snow smoke curling up from its sides that still steamed with the heat of re-entry.

It had clearly been through hell. There were large gouges torn out of the walls, dents and bags like a giant hand at grabbed round the centre and squeezed. It had left a trail of scattered metal behind it like a Tribbitie shedding its skin. It was as familiar to him as his own.

"Udonta." He growled.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter two

Maris had spotted the tail almost two weeks ago. She and Iln had been following a mark – some Novan with a ships worth of pearls around her neck and the passcode to a very full security deposit box in the datastick hidden in her pocket. They'd been running a typical con. Send in one of the cuter younger kids to fake a fall and then swipe the stuff while the mark was distracted. Then Wiz, Doc and Sanira'd spend a day or so competing over who could crack the encryption while the rest of them fleeced whatever else they'd managed to grab.

Iln had been tugging on her fragile whiskers and pinching the tip of her nose, bringing tears to her eyes in preparation for her imminent and accidental collision. Melis had been scouting the marketplace for guards when she'd caught sight of a man watching them from across the way. Well, no, he wasn't watching them. He was very carefully not watching them. His body rigidly turned so that his gaze fell somewhere above Melis' left antennae. Melis didn't frown. She was not in the habit of allowing her emotions to show so blatantly on her face. She merely tilted her head down, clearly angling her body in such a way as to emphasise how all of her attention was focused on her younger sister's antics. The second she did his eyes snapped onto hers.

"Are you sure that is necessary?" She asked, eyes fixed on Iln's. The trick to watching someone wasn't to look away when they saw you, it was to never be looking at them in the first place. In her peripheral vision, the black of his coat stood out like a sunspot. She let her eyes wander, until they came to rest on the blacked-out windows of an abandoned shop. Adequate. He was still watching. She scanned the reflection. There was another man, the other side of the square. He was even less subtle than the first. Fidgety, with a scrunched in face, like he'd been eating sour fruits and the twitch of a junkie.

Behind her there was a screech of outrage and a shocked wail.

"I'm sorry. I'm so so sorry!"

Maris turned. Iln was sitting on the floor, clawed hands digging into her cheeks as she stared in horror at the broken string of pearls scattered on the floor. The Novan woman had pulled herself up to her full height and was spitting insults.

"Look what you've done you _stupid_ thing!"

Iln scrabbled on the floor, trying to scoop up the pearls, but her hands were shaking and she kept spilling them back onto the floor where they rolled through blood the colour of Xandarian liquer. Iln had scraped her leg when she'd fallen.

"I'm sorry, I'm so so sorry!" She wailed again, scrambling to catch a pearl that was rolling down the street. "This must have cost so much money, I'm sorry!"

"Babka, what did you do?" Maris demanded, schooling her expression into the perfect expression of angry concern. Eyebrows pulled just so far down. Mouth twisted to just the right angle. "We can't afford to replace something this expensive. How often does Matron have to tell you to watch where you walk?" She brushed past the Novan in her hurry to get to her sister. Aaand, there.

"I'm sorry!" Iln wailed, covering her face in her hands as she broke out into loud hysterical sobs.

Maris tugged her onto her feet and bowed, pushing Iln's head down as well. "I am so sorry for Babka's clumsiness m'am." She let her eyes wander to the very expensive looking pearls and allowed herself to, very audibly gulp, the shin between her eyes pinching. "We can – we can pay to have that replaced if you wish."

They had drawn a crowd. Iln's tears, Maris' blatant deference. It was alright to destroy insignificant little nobodies in private. In public, the rich tended to prefer feigned benevolence. The woman sniffed and shook her head.

"I doubt that the two of you could make enough money in a year." Rings flashed on the hand that she waved dismissively. "Do try to control your…friend next time."  
"Of course, ma'am, thank you ma'am."

Maris stayed bowed until the woman was out of sight then straightened, allowing her face to smooth back into its comfortable neutral expression. Iln snickered. That woman clearly had no idea how much money passed through their hands in a year. Or how much had just passed from hers into theirs. At least not until she checked her bag.

"Really?" Maris asked, "Was damaging yourself really necessary?"

"Hey," Iln shrugged and stuffed a handful of very expensive pearl into her pocket. "Gotta give the punters what they want. Got to put on a show." She scooped up more pearls.

"Don't think you're keeping those." The men were still watching. Maris put a hand on Iln's shoulder. "Come on, I need to talk to Yondu."

There was no concern on Maris' face, or in her voice. And if she allowed her fingers to curl a millimetre too deep on Iln's shoulder it was not something the teenager was likely to notice.

Peter groaned. Something on his head was throbbing, he poked it. Ow. Mistake.

"Brother Peter, I continue to be surprised by your idiocy."

Peter cracked his eyes open. Ew. Haraks was looming over him, the delicate blue swirls across his skin blurring into dizzying swirls.

"You would assume that upon finding yourself in pain your reaction would not be to further irritate the wound."

Great. Sure. They survive a crash landing but god forbid Haraks stops slagging off Peter for five minutes. Peter stared up at the ceiling and gave all of his limbs an experimental twitch. When nothing screamed out in pain – well, more pain than you'd expect from being tossed around a spaceship as it crashed into a planet – he sat up.

"Everyone –" He broke off into heavy coughing, "Everyone okay? Wiz? Nayadina?" His mouth tasted like cotton candy and chilli so Glim at least was fine. He stumbled to his feet, shaking off the hand the Haraxs tried to put on his shoulder.

The cockpit was slanted heavily to the side, Yondu's collection had toppled off the chair, the shards of expensive glass mixing with the blobby chunk of inexpertly made pottery.

There was a choked off whimper and then Nayadina's voice, breathy and with a pained gasp to it, "I'm fine." She uncurled from where she'd been sheltering beneath the captain's chair. Her petals had folded down round her body like a second skin but Peter could see they the ones on her arms had been crumbled and torn. One of her crowning petals had been torn right out, giving her face the discerning appearance of a child that has lost their two front teeth and is grinning gummily up at you. Peter winced.

"I look forward to The Captain finding out what you have done to the ship. Providing of course that he li –"

"Awww shuddup man." Wiz groaned from beneath the console. "Could ona a you get her off me, 'd appreciate it."

"Wiz!" Peter scrambled over, "How You … Ew."

Wiz was lying face down on the floor in an uncomfortable looking L shape, his legs still scrunched up beneath the console, now tangled in the array of wires he'd been fiddling with. Somethime during the crash Glim had been thrown out of the captain's chair and was now sitting on the back of Wiz's head.

Peter wrinkled his nose. "I think she's seeping into your hair."

"I know. I'm feelin' it." The voice was muffled by the floor. "Hurryin' would be nice."

"Yeah, right." Peter ducked down and put his hands beneath what was approximately Glim's middle. It was like a bizarre mixture of holding a tortoise round the stomach and dipping your hands into a tin of cold beans. There was a slurping sound as Peter detached her from their brother's head. The tips of Wiz's hair were smoking slightly. There was a flicker of sour cranberries. Glim's version of a pout.

Peter surveyed the wreckage of the ship, the bright lights of the city peering in through the window, the broken pieces on the floor. "I don't suppose there's a chance Maris didn't notice that, is there?"

Haraks let out a bark of laughter. "Oh no, brother Peter you are most assuredly doomed."

Peter scowled at him. "Hey, hey if I go down you are all coming down with me!" He gestured around the room and ignored Wiz's 'hey'. "I will burn all of you!" He paused and tilted his head in consideration. "Except Nayadina. Nayadina I like."

"I love ya too, little brother." Wiz commented, finally pushing himself upright like a ragdoll and slumping into a slouch.

Peter grimaced at him. "Okay. Rest over people. It's time for The Plan."

"Brother Peter. The plan is not complex. There is no reason for you to emphasise its vowels."

Peter shook his head. "You people have no appreciation of drama."

Stakar kicked the side of the ship with a heavy boot. It groaned and a screw fell out. Couldn't even keep a ship maintained properly.

"Stakar."

Staar didn't turn, he'd felt her gaze between his shoulders for a while now, it wasn't a surprise. Anyway, he'd known she'd come as soon as he'd seen the ship. "Nanami. Been a while."

"My new duties have kept me busy."

"I bet." He sighed and stuffed his hands in his pockets, turning to look at her. She'd changed since he last saw her. Had grown her hair out so that she actually had a soft buzz of crimson stubble across the round dome of her head. It made her look sharper, not softer. "I don't suppose you knew about this."

"No." Four arms crossed. "I haven't seen him in 12 years. I haven't heard of him breaking exile before. He knows he's not wanted here."

Stakar hummed and glanced the ship over. "Doesn't look like he had much choice."

"The ship has taken some damage. It would not be difficult to breach it." One of her hands slid down to the blaster on her hip.

Stakar laughed bitterly. "I'm done chasing after Udonta. He's not one of mine anymore. He's got an excuse? He can damn well get out here and tell me himself. And if it's good enough I might just let him off the planet unharmed."

He took a few steps back towards the bar, scooping up what looked like half a thruster and dragging it with him, jamming it up against the bar wall and dropping down onto it to wait.

"And for the love of nothing, will one of you get me a damn drink." The various Ravagers who'd been milling about the square unhelpfully jumped and attempted to look like they hadn't been eavesdropping. Nanami snapped something in a sharp guttural language that didn't translate at one of her crew. Another Karadnyd, male and half the size of Nanami with shiny black skin. He snapped to attention and hurried off.

Nanami leant against the wall next to Stakar. She didn't say anything. But she didn't take her hand of her blaster either.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter three

Iln was bored.

Everyone on the ship had been grounded since Maris had reported a couple of guys watching them a few weeks back. Yondu always got really paranoid when it looked like their father was getting close. They'd booked it out of that star system asap and Yondu had been bristly since.

He wouldn't even let anyone out on an M-ship, let alone a job. It was so boring! It was getting to everyone, the brood were skulking around together more than they usually did, Doc was relentlessly taking and retaking stock and Gears had taken his M-ship apart to rebuild it for the second time that month. Everyone got edgy when it came to their father. If Iln didn't know that it'd get her whiskers clumped she'd pinch one of the ships and take a joyride to the nearest planet, con a couple of smug students out of a bit of Daddy's inheritance.

She could even take Petey with her (and call him that to his face. He hated it almost as much as someone pinching his Walkman), Petie was good at coming up with cons. 'parently Terra was full of them. The ring reward, the pideon drop, the Spanish prisoner. One of these days Iln was going to get a chance to try the coconut shy. That one was her favourite, the Terran's knew it was a scam and they still lined up to hand their money over.

Iln groaned. It was no good. She was still bored. She rolled onto her back. The hard bones of her spine dug into the cold canteen table through her skin and her pelt. She wriggled, trying to get comfortable. Out of all the things she hated her father for her stunted growth was the pettiest. But it was still his fault. It was his fault she was bored too. She blinked up at the ceiling. Gunmetal grey. Scorch marks near the door to the kitchen (Kraglin was no longer allowed in there), a fork stuck in the metal that Gears had put there. It still hadn't fallen down yet. She blinked again, her second eyelids sliding across her eyes in a milky film. The world went grey, crisscrossed with shimmering golden threads that tangled across each other and peeled off in different directions. Dozens of them ended on the ship. Seven stretched backwards, towards her other family. Most of them spiralled off into space. Empty tethers to people she had never met…huh. One ended in the room.

Iln glanced round. She hadn't seen any of her siblings in here when she'd ducked in to hide from Yondu's job orders. She focused on the thread, rolling her shoulders to shuffle up and drop her head off the table, her neck instantly complaining about the position. The thread led to one of the vents. Iln retracted her lids. What was – oh. There was a subtle smattering of green scales in the darkness of the vent. Chii. Iln tilted her head up enough to check her watch. Standard time 1:00. As if on que there came a patter of footsteps from the corridor.

This would be good.

Lana burst through the door. Chii launched himself from the vent, long body unwinding like a spring, and collided with his older half-sister, knocking her to the floor, tail squeezing her arms to her sides, wings curving round her head like a vulture with a kill.

Lana hollered and struggled, snapping with serrated teeth.

Iln snickered. Ambush predator vs. pursuit predator. Point to ambush.

Lana manged to wriggle free and the two descended into their typical brawl. Rolling round the floor and hissing at each other. Lana did not seem happy. Then again, she had very structured schedules she kept to so she couldn't really be surprised by people anticipating her. Iln rolled into the middle of the table and curled up, trying to squish herself further into the cold of the table. It was soothing. She yawned, sharp canines flashing. Most places were far too warm. The squabbling was starting to drift in and out and it was a struggle to keep her eyes open. Eventually she gave up. Maybe when she woke it would be less boring.

She woke up screaming. Everything burned and gold fizzled dark in starbursts and supernovas that were consumed by black holes that _ripped_ and _tore_ and – and –

"Iln! Iln!"

She struck out blindly. The gold was fading, thread ravelling into nothing and snapping and there was nothing left, nothing it was going dark it it burned and it hurt and –

"Damnit girl."

Iln gasped, eyes blinking light out of them. Her cheek throbbed. She was sitting upright. Yondu's hand on her shoulder. The other raised to hit her again. Chii was wrapped around Lana, the two ten-year olds staring up at her with wide eyes. She raised a hand to her cheek. It burned.

Iln collapsed forward, sobs tearing and burning their way out of her throat. She choked on air, trying to speak. Her skin was on fire pinpricks of deeper pain flaring across it like she'd been showered in sparks. Her lungs contracted. Useless smoky husks.

"I know, I know girl, I got'chyou."

Yondu's hands were firm on her shoulders. Grounding. Cold.

"He – He's done it again. He's – one of them is. They" She cut off as a fresh wave of painful sobs rose like a geyser. "A thread went black. Father has, Father has -"

"I know girl, I know." Yondu's red eyes were serious and steady and pained.

Iln shuddered. Choking again at another wave of pain. Her body convulsed, and went limp, sagging to the side. There was something sharp and acidic in her mouth and she wondered when she'd bitten her tongue.

"C'mon girl, let's get'chyou to Doc."

An arm wrapped round her shoulders, another round her knees, her head looling forward onto Yondu's shoulder. He was still talking. Barking orders at the little'uns, getting them to open the door. Iln tried to listen but her head swum like the heart of a star. She pressed her forehead onto tohe cool of Yondu's jacket. It was too hard. It hurt too much. She shut her eyelids – both pairs – she couldn't bear to watch the thread unravel and die.

"What have you done?"

Peter cringed away. Haraks was the only one not scared. And he was an idiot. Nayadina was rustling more than a forest and Wiz was hunched in on himself. Even Glim was flickering between electricity and burned toast.

The Brood crooned behind them, heads bobbing up and down. The five quintuplets were definitely the creepiest of the siblings. Nonverbal and near indistinguishable from each other, with long birdlike necks and sharp razor talons. One clacked its beak and shuffled its wings and Peter resisted the urge to shuffle away. The Brood may have been the creepiest of the siblings but they weren't the scariest.

Maris was terrifying.

Her face was as blank as always. Eyes perfectly composed. Lips placid. Despite this she loomed over them like a wrathful god – the sharp blades of her antennae rattling with rage, the tips still glowing deep crimson as she kept an eye on the life-signs in the room behind her.

Peter had caught a glimpse of Doc and a flash of blue before the door shut.

"We were helping." Nayadina said softly.

"How is this helping?"

"Leave her alone." Peter glared at Maris who arched her eyebrows pointedly at his yell. "We had a plan. We didn't mean to crash the ship. It's not like we had much to work with."

"A plan? And that plan would be?"

Peter shuffled slightly, glancing round at his partners in crime in the hope of back-up.

"Brother Peter intended to find other Ravagers and ask for their aid in finding adequate medical health for out captain and first mate."

"Haraks agreed to it!" Peter blurted out.

"As you recall, I repeatedly mentioned that the plan was flawed."

"Yeah, when the ship started crashing," Peter jabbed his finger at Haraks, "Up 'til then you were on board. You don't get to bail now."

Haraks narrowed his eyes and opened his mouth to say something that would no doubt be condescending.

Maris pinched the bridge of her nose and closed her eyes for three point seven seconds. "Your plan was to find other Ravagers?"

Four nods and the sensation of licking ice was her answer.

"How did you even know about the other Ravagers in order to find them?"

Peter shrugged, "Yondu talks about them sometimes when he's pissed."

"And it never occurred to you that perhaps there was a reason he only mentioned them when he was drunk?" There was a sound from behind them and Maris glanced round, antennae flaring brighter. "Never mind." She said. "You decided to find Ravagers. How exactly did you plan to do this?"

"Ah, tha's sorta on me." Wiz cut in, unfolding himself and giving an approximation of his usual grin. "there aint that many places willin' to have Ravagers. I checked the places that were, crossed of the one's you don' wane be takin your injured to, an' the one's Yon'd kill us for goin' to. Then I hacked the Nova databases for Ravager sightings. This planet's the one with the most Ravager activity."

"What planet would that be?"

Nayadina's crown petals quivered "Contraxia." She whispered.

Wiz opened his mouth to continue but Maris cut her hand across him. "So, what you are saying is you did not just plan to find Ravagers. You have, in fact, most likely found Ravagers."

Wiz grimaced, "Yeah, tha's pretty much the sitch."

"Right." Maris straightened, tugging on the front of her jacket so it sat smoother and the flames of her Ravager's patch were more noticeable a reeled off a list of orders. "As acting captain, it is my duty to deal with this mess. Brood," The siblings chittered and bobbed in synch. "Round everyone up, keep them together. Make sure they are all armed. I want two of you with Kraglin and the captain at all times." Her eyes suddenly focussed on the guilty siblings standing in front of her. "You five are with me. You got u into this mess you can get us out. Peter, you're my diplomatic support. The rest of you stay quiet and prepare to fight if it becomes necessary."

"Sister Maris, I must object," Haraks cut in, ignoring the way the air around Maris turned sharp, "why should Brother Peter act as your support?"

"Nayadina's too shy, Wiz is too relaxed, you lack diplomacy and Glim can't talk. I would prefer you to be with us, you are physically imposing and a brilliant fighter but if you question my orders again I will leave you here."

Haraks fell silent and Maris turned back to the Brood. "I want Sanira, Objob and the twins running lookout. If I give the signal we fight. You have twenty minutes, then I am opening the door."

The Brood bobbed down in s quick and surprisingly grace then there was a flurry of movement and a blur. Just too quick for the human eye to be able to register, and then there were only two of them standing in guard position in front of the door to the medical ward.

Peter scrambled off to fetch his helmet and blaster, grateful that he was already wearing his boots. Despite the danger Peter couldn't help but feel a small thrill of excitement. He'd run cons and thefts, all the smaller kids did, but he'd only just started learning to fly an M-ship. He'd never been involved in the real, proper Ravager business before.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter four

Very carefully Wiz tilted back in his seat until he was basically horizontal. Careful not to move too much he raised one hand and balanced a screwdriver on his upper lip. It wobbled and he moved his head to compensate, freezing in that position as the wobbling stopped.

"Seems like a bad idea."

Wiz yelped, arms wind-milling. His stomachs lurched painfully as they felt gravity win and Wiz toppled backwards, hitting the metal floor with a painful thump. The screwdriver clattered away to roll beneath the receiver.

"Ow." He said balefully, turning to glare at Iln who was leaning against the door, whiskers twitching in amusement.

Iln snickered. "Told you it was a bad idea."

"It was goin' fine 'til you." Wiz snarled, shoving his arm under the receiver to scrabble for the screwdriver. His fingers brushed against it, sending it further away. He grunted and squirmed, nails catching on the end and digging down to inch it closer, a hair's breadth at a time. Finally, he squirmed backwards, tugging it out. There was a thick layer of grime across his arm, painting the orange red and he shrugged, scrubbing it off on a shirt that had once been a significantly lighter grey. He turned back and scowled.

"Hey"

Iln grinned from where she'd nicked his chair. "What?"

"Rude." Wiz commented mildly and tugged off a panel, poking in amongst the wires. He glanced at Iln out of the corner of his eye. The receiver had been set up in what used to be a storage cupboard so there wasn't bunches of room. Half of it was taken up entirely by the receiver, a mash of black plastic, wires, screens and blinky lights. It was Wiz's baby. Well. Wiz's and Doc's. And sort'a Sanira's. Their weird incestuous baby. Wiz gagged, curling his lips up over sharp teeth at the image and sticking out his tongue as though he could spit the image out of his mind.

Iln snickered. Even though Wiz was 100% sure that she couldn't read his mind. Maybe. He didn't really get how all that creepy empathy stuff worked. His people tended to be more about logic. I mean. Not that he was a stellar example of his people. He twisted a couple of wires together. Then unplugged and replugged a couple of bits. He wondered how long he could get away with it before Iln figured out that the receiver didn't actually need maintenance. He just needed an excuse to be on the floor. Iln'd wanna know why he hadn't pushed the seat thing otherwise.

It was a ship full of siblings.

No one liked to share.

He glanced over at her again. It was hard to tell through all the fur but it looked like she'd lost weight again. She always struggled to eat after an episode. And sleep. Even sitting down her legs were trembling.

People always underestimated how much he noticed. And Iln got all pissy when people tried to look after her. Not like it'd occur to her that he'd heard her coming and set it up so she'd pinch the chair on her own. Iln could be predictable. She liked to mess with people.

"what d'you want, anyway?" Wiz asked, burying his face in the wiring. It's not like he didn't know. Iln always checked the receiver after an episode. Obsessively. Not that it usually did much good.

"Urgh." Iln rolled her eyes. "The Brood are getting ansty. They keep appearing places. And Raja 'n Rava are being really, really annoying. And if I have to hear one more story about some Terran outlaw I'm gonna airlock myself."

"The twins still pullin' the 'technic'ly royal thing?"

"So much." Iln waved her arms, swaying dangerously on her seat. Definitely not been eating. "You'd think that after the first year they'd have got the whole, intergalactically wanted criminals but nooooo. I still have to deal with them going on about how their mother's cousin's something or other is a king. No one cares."

"least they're only half related."

"I know right!" Iln exclaimed. "The brains must come from the mum's side of the family."

Wiz shrugged, "I dunno, Da' probably ain't gonna win any awards. Yondu figured him out pretty quickly."

"Yeah, but that's…" Iln trailed off, frowning at the screen.

"What?" Wiz scooted backwards until he was leaning against her legs and craned his neck back to see. A red light was flashing on the screen. Wiz frowned, twisting one of the dials round to change the frequency. the audible equivalent to pins and needles filled the tiny room, the buzzing and crackling broken by fragments of words.

"Is that?"

"An outgoing transmission from Ego's planet? Yeah." Wiz frowned at the receiver, tapping a line of code ont the screen to adjust the Arial and then turned the dial again. Both of them jumped as their Father's voice rang through the speakers.

"It's only been nine days though." Iln pointed out, biting her lip as Wiz flipped on the recorder. "Father never sends out a transmission so soon after."

Wiz scraped his tongue against his teeth. "Maybe he' try'na throw us off. Last time it seemed like he weren't happy about us beatin' him to so many kids."

Ego's voice continued. Throwing out the usually speel about wasted youths and longing to reconnect and how great an opportunity it would be for the kid and blah blah blah. Wiz wavered. Someone would have to fetch Yondu and Iln looked like she'd pass out halfway there. On the other hand it couldn't be good to stay in the room listening to their dad talk crap about how much he loved his kids after she'd just felt him kill one.

Still. It'd be best if they got Yondu quickly.

"I'll grab th' captain." Wiz muttered. Turning and jogging out the room. The captain probably wouldn't be happy.

Yondu was not happy.

The cupboard wasn't really big enough for all three of them plus the receiver. Like, it could of fit him and a few of his siblings, assuming you grabbed the smaller ones, but the broad shouldered Centurian, plus him, plus Iln was a bit cramped.

Yondu had his arms crossed and his face scrunched up into an expression of deep suspicion. "Ego don't usually ask for a drop off so quick."

"Could be tryin' somethin' new." Wiz pointed out. "He don't know about the receiver so it's not like he can tell how we're picking up the kids before him."

Yondu made a humming sound in the back of his throat and peered closer at the screen where a transcript of Ego's conversation with an unknown ship was recorded. He clicked his teeth irritably. "It's a damn sight closer to that damn planet than I like to go."

Wiz double checked the coordinates. Yondu was right. It was only one hyperjump away from their dad's planet. Yondu tended to avoid that whole quadrant as much as he could.

"An' Ego usually picks up the nearer kids himself."

Wiz grimaced at the point. Yondu always got extra techy about those kids. When he found out who they were but couldn't risk the rest of them by trying to beat Ego there.

"Maybe he's getting desperate." Iln said. "If he's getting the kids sooner and not y himself than maybe he's getting weaker. I mean, none of us know why he's killing them. Maybe he needs to and seeing as we've stopped him getting quite a few, maybe…" Iln trailed off hopefully.

Red eyes squinted at the screen. Scanning over the message again. Wiz was the only one to see the way Yondu's eyes flickered over to Iln's trembling hands for a second before he sighed.

"Right. Tell ya' siblings we've got a job, then."

Of all the things that Stakar had been expecting it hadn't been kids.

The thought was accompanied by a twinge of pain. He didn't know what he'd expected to come of banishing Yondu but maybe a part of him had hoped that the boy he'd practically raised would have taken it as the kick up the arse he needed and t the very least stopped trading in kids. He should have known though. Yondu had always been headstrong and contrary. God forbid he take responsibility for his actions. He was probably still moaning about how he'd done nothing wrong.

Stakar shifted on his seat, glancing the kids over. There were six of them. The one in the middle was clearly the leader. She was the tallest, and looked the oldest – practically an adult. She was also the most easily identifiable. An Aphaloid. Her hair was shaved on the sides to make way for thick antennae that curved upwards like a blade and glowed red at the tips. She was accompanied by a highly muscled lad of indeterminate age and species, a Hopper, a Terran, a Forauna and presumably whatever the blob of blue tinted glowing jelly identified as.

Though it was amusing to see the Ravager patch that was slowly being absorbed into the gunk.

Stakar frowned. Scanning them again.

They all wore the Ravager flames.

And, now that he looked closer, they were all dressed for a fight.

The Aphaloid had a set of knives strapped to her hips. The Terran was wearing a blaster and a Ravager jacket that was obviously an inheritance, it had been rolled up at the sleeves and hung down passed his hips. Even the tiny Forauna was wearing some sort of crown-like helmet, strips of hardened leather twisting upwards and fanning out like feathers to protect her delicate petals.

The only two that weren't noticeably armed were the large lad and the blob. And considering the fact that the large lad wasn't wearing a shirt and was built like a brick shithouse and the blob appeared to be digesting part of the Forauna's sleeve, they probably didn't need them.

The few Ravagers still milling in the courtyard shifted restlessly. Nanami was frozen next to him and didn't seem able or willing to control the situation. Stakar stood up, mouth opening, but before he could say anything the Aphaloid strode down the gangway, tugging off one of her gloves and holding her hand out to shake. Stakar took it, half of an amused eye watching the others as they scrambled to follow.

"My name is Maris, acting captain. These are my siblings, Peter," the Terran, "Wiz," Hopper, "Haraks," Excessive muscles, "Nayadina," Forauna, "and Glim." The blob. Each name was accompanied by a brief wave in their direction.

"That's a lot of siblings."

Peter and Wiz both snorted. Even Nayadina fluttered her petals with an audible trill of amusement.

Maris smiled briskly. "Quite."

"Can't help noticing that you look nothing alike."

"We share a father. Most of us favour the other parent."

This seemed to push Nanami out of whatever had shocked her and she took an almost hesitant step forward.

"I recognise you." She said.

Maris very precisely tilted her head an inch to the left. "Perhaps." She allowed.

"You are His though, aren't you?" Nanami stated taking another step forward. "Ego's children."

Stakar's lip curled against the sudden bitter taste in his mouth. There had been a ripple through the siblings at Ego's name and Maris' eyes had narrowed.

"I am Maris, of clan Udonta." She tossed her head back, "We are aware of the terms of our exile however we are requesting a temporary waive in the terms in order to seek emergency medical treatment for injured crew."

There was a pause. It would have been more poetic to say that silence had fallen. But music still radiated out of one of the clubs in the square. The wind still whistled loudly through the empty space.

"I am unaware of the terms of our exile."

Mari's face blanked. "Haraks?" She said mildly.

"Yes, sister Maris?"

"What did I tell you in regards to speaking."

"Not too."

"Precisely. Please refrain."

Peter snickered and muttered something to Wiz that Stakar was unable to pick up. He was unamused by the byplay and crossed his arms. Waiting impatiently for it to finish.

"You are members of clan Udonta?" Nanami demanded, one set of rams going to her hips, the others crossing in front of her so she could peer down at the significantly shorter woman.

Maris very carefully shifted her head. Allowing her to look up at Nanami while simultaneously giving the impression that she was looking down her nose at her. "We are."

"You are aware of what he did to your siblings?"

"Yondu was not aware of what Ego was doing to them."

Stakar couldn't have stopped his snort of derision if he'd bothered to try.

"He did not. When he discovered the truth, Yondu made the decision to prevent our Father from getting his hands on the rest of us. It is what he dedicated twelve years to."

Stakar laughed humorously. "Are you sure we're talking about the same Yondu?"

The Terran snarled something and launched himself forward. Nanami's blaster was instantly in her hand but Maris caught the child before he could do any damage. Holding out her other hand in a wordless instruction to hold.

"You may laugh If you wish Mr Stakar. However, this ship holds forty-two of my siblings who will never fall into our father's hands due to Yondu. It also holds our mortally injured captain and first mate. Both of whom were damaged protecting the children on this ship. Do we have your permission to seek medical attention or not?"

Stakar bit back the instant disbelief at the idea of Yondu putting his life on the line for someone else and examined the kids. They seemed well looked after. A bit battered, but the state the ship was in they'd have to be. The Terran was glaring at him like he planned to shoot his face off if he dared say anything that even hinted at not getting his captain treatment. The others were subtler about it. But they had all shifted defensively when Maris had asked the question. Nayadina was staring at him with big wet eyes and the Hopper was fiddling with a screwdriver in a way that should not be as threatening as it was. And Stakar could not get the bitter taste off his tongue. He tried to discretely scrape it off on his teeth.

All of the kids had desperation pouring off them. Even Maris for all that her face was a perfectly blank mask.

Stakar groaned and relaxed his shoulders. "Oh for the –"

He broke off at a flurry of noise from the ship door.

Two more kids spilled out, racing towards them.

"Haraks." Maris barked.

Haraks moved, surprisingly quickly for his size, grabbing the two younger kids as they spilled towards him, yanking both of them up in to the air by the scruff of their necks.

Stakar examined the new arrivals. They were both obviously young. One was a strange mismatch of beings, his lower body a snakelike tail, but wings dangled from his shoulders. He folded two humanoid arms across his chest and clacked his beak angrily. The other was covered in thick grey skin and heavy muscles, large, black pupil-less eyes and a row of dorsal fins stating at the head and traveling down the spine. Neither seemed particularly perturbed about being held aloft.

"Chii." Maris snapped, "Lana, I thought I made my instructions perfectly clear."

Neither looked particularly repentant which was a feat as even Stakar had been slightly intimidated by the venom in Maris' voice.

"Are you the leader?" The boy asked, green eyes fixed unerringly on Stakar, "The big leader of all the Ravagers?"

"He is not." Lana snapped in a surprisingly flowery voice. "It's you, right?" She demanded of Nanami.

Stakar quirked an eyebrow. "I lead the Ravager clans, yes."

Chii crowed triumphantly. "I knew it, I knew it. Because males are the natural leaders due to their –"

He was cut off with a squawk as Lana managed to swing violently in Haraks grip and kick out at her brother and knocking him to the floor, squirming out of Haraks' hold and jumping on Chii.

Stakar watched in bemusement as Maris pressed her fingers to the bridge of her nose but made no move to stop the fighting.

"Ten credits on Lana" Peter muttered.

"'m not takin' a suckers bet." Wiz responded.

"Does this happen often?" Nanami asked.

Every sibling not involved in scrapping on the floor groaned in unintentional synchronicity.

"All the time."

"Brother and sister disagree frequently."

"'s a bit ofa trend, yeah."

Maris sighed, spreading her hands in apparent defeat. "Chii's people are patriarchal, Lana's are Matriarchal. Both believe the other gender to be inferior."

Stakar grinned to himself at the world-weary tone. The kids seemed fine. Happy even from the way the Terran was trying to convince Haraks that Chii "totally had an equal chance of winning." If Yondu had adopted a few dozen kids, dedicated the rest of his life to make sure that what he'd done to the first two wouldn't happen to these ones.

"I waive the terms of exile."

The kids froze. All of them, eyes whipping round to stare disbelievingly at him.

"Clan Udonta has permission to stay on this planet until such a time as their injured are able to leave."


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter five

 **Hey guys, I am so, so sorry that it took so long. I've been working full-time hours seven days a week, so I've just been too tired to write. I finally managed to go down to six, so you should hopefully be getting more regular updates. Parts of this chapter have been written for like a month but I just haven't had time to finish it and the P.O.V jumps a bit more than I usually prefer but this should be the only chapter where it's necessary so if you hate it don't worry, next chapter we should be back to having just the past to present transition instead of jumping all over the place.**

"Cocksuckin' son of an Aaskavarian whore!" Yondu snapped, yanking the steering wheel sideways.

"Hey!" Orla snapped, voice crackling out of the bridge speaker as her ship cut across the empty space in front of the Ecclector.

Yondu ignored her, red eyes scanning the sky as he twisted and attempted to dodge the ships on his tail. They had dropped out of jump straight into a trap. Their daddy's work of course. Trust the smarmy eyed bastard to figure out how they were outsmartin' him.

He flipped the ship on its side as some of the couple dozen ships that's been waiting for them each fired off a beam of light, the beams collecting into a thick wall of crimson light.

Yondu swore again, slamming his hand onto the ignition and putting it to the max, the ship speeding towards the only empty patch of sky, engine rattling with fatigue. _No!_ A smarm of silver blocked the exit. Yondu grit his teeth and pressed down harder. The centre of the mass of ships began to glow with the same ghostly red light that chased them.

"Got it Capt'n."

The light chasing them splintered as Kraglin barrelled through one of the clusters of tiny ships. Yondu slammed on the revers, flipping the ship up and away and just missing the new shot that fired into the empty space the Ecclector had just filled.

In the sky around them, silver ships scattered as Kraglin led his small platoon of M-ships through one of the hives, smashing through the huddled swarm. Yondu could just make out the distinctive pink lightning painted on Orla's ships sides as she and Objob herded them into their siblings' waiting guns.

His lips quirked in a rueful grin. It wasn't quite the hundred-strong force that he'd had in his prime, but the thirteen ships were just as ruthless an eager for blood. The Eccletor shuddered as the enemy's lasers fizzled out against the Ecclector's shields. Alone, the ships were useless against his ships bulk, nothing more than an annoyance. It was when the clustered together that they became dangerous buggers. Yondu twisted the ship into a sharp curve, avoiding another wave of crimson that cut out before it could graze the ships

Gear's let out a whoop of joy that sent a screech of feedback through the speakers as he barrelled into another huddle of the tiny ships with all the brute force of a Bilgesnipe. "Take that you miserable mother -"

"Dive now!" Sanira screamed.

Yondu's head whipped round. A group had come up behind a trio of his ships, wave of red building. Sanira's smaller vessel darted quickly up. Maris's mustard-yellow spun down. The third stalled.

The Copper paint of Harack's ship disappeared in a scarlet wave.

"Haraks!"

The scream could have come from any of the siblings. Maybe all of them. Beneath, Harack's ship came back into view, tumbling down.

Yondu inhaled sharply and grabbed for the communicator.

"Haraks, status." He barked. There was silence. "Status damnit. Haraks! Answer me right now you son of a bitch, I will have you on clearing for a month!"

There was a pause.

"Objob. Sanira. Bring him in. The rest of you cover them." Yondu flipped a switch, opening the transmission across the ship. "Whoever's nearest get t' the cannons. We're blowing this shit wide open."

He dropped the communicator on top of his control panel, gripping the wheel with both hands, pressure bleeding his knuckles periwinkle. His red eyes gleamed with a feral shine as he slammed down the accelerator and smashed the bulk of his ship through the delicate silver clusters as though they were confetti.

No-one fucked with his crew.

Xxx

Peter hated being hanger crew. It sucked. He'd outgrown the vents a couple years earlier which, lets face it, was a far cooler way to fight. No expected you to jump out the vents and shoot them in the face 'til you did and then they were dead, so they didn't expect much a' anything. An' Yondu was real strict about the age thing. No G-wing 'til sixteen. No solo missions 'til eighteen. Which was a load'a bull-dung cause what was the point of being a space pirate if you still had rules.

Peter grimaced. Slumping against the nearest G-wing and glaring at the closed hanger doors. Who was gonna try and get in that way anyway. He was gonna miss all the action and Haraks was gonna be all smug about all the bad guys he got as if Peter wouldn't have got twice as many if they'd let him fly.

There was a squeal from above as the rooms speaker came on and then Yondu's voice was booming through the hanger, words mashing together into a snarl of anger.

"Whoever's nearest get t' the cannons. We're blowing this shit wide open."

Shit yeah, that was what he was talking about, they _never_ used the canons.

"I've got it!" Peter yelled, scrambling to be the first one to the doors.

"Peter wait a -" Irin snapped, but Peter was already halfway there.

"I got this." He called over his shoulder, slapping his hand down on the panel. Irnin was all the way over by the bay doors so Peter'd be well on his way by the time xie decided to come after him. Anyway, Irin was way too much of a rule follower to ever abandon xier post.

Most of his siblings would be in the hanger, further up the ship or manning the vents so he was definitely gonna get to the Stern canon first. This was gonna be so awesome.

The metal floor clanged loudly beneath his feet as he sprinted down the corridor, activating his boots in a brief sputter of crackling flame to fling himself up to the next level.

He misjudged the distance, slamming into the railing, momentum sending him spinning round it, his legs flipping over the top and slamming onto the higher floor, his torso still wrapped round the railing in an awkward crab. He let go.

He was right. He was the first one there. Peter grinned, brushing some imaginary dirt of the sleeves of his jacket. Indiana Jones had nothing on him. The Stern control room was small, a single panel a window and a seat that he buckled himself into, flipping on the communicator.

Xxx

Yondu spun the ship a full three sixty and dropped, trying to duck out of the way of another bunch of the little buggers, then was forced to lurch sharply up again to avoid another fucking swarm. He grit his teeth and slapped the intercom on.

"Everyone back on board?" He snapped.

"Yes Capt'n." Kraglin answered instantly, "We're on. Just shuttin' the bay doors now."

"Haraks is unharmed." Maris added, "The wave damaged the ship's electronics and transmitter but did not harm to the occupant. It is unsurprising. They must know that father wants us alive."

Yondu grinned wildly, "An' is everyone in place?"

"Aye captain," A new voiced answered, "Kalan reporting from the Bow cannon."

"Raja"

"and Rava"

"we've got port and starboard." The Krylorian twins drawled.

"I've got stern." Peter chipped in. His voice was fuzzy through the intercom speakers but even with that you could hear the way a grin bubbled up just beneath it. Yondu rolled his eyes. His own grin widened. He could feel it stretching across his cheeks in a frozen, self-satisfied snarl.

"These pricks wanna see an EMP. Let's give them a mother fucking EMP."

He slammed his hand down on the centre of his control panel. The metal light up, bright blue lines spreading out around his hand. Not even half a second later metal shrieked and shuddered as the four cannons were activated. A thick blast echoes round the ship a near visible wave of sound rippling across space as Wiz's greatest masterpiece was activated.

Across the ship lights flickered out as the energy was poured into the EMP. The Ecclector's shield flickered and fell. Leaving them completely vulnerable to the surrounding ships.

It didn't matter.

The ships faltered, and then began to tumble, spinning over and over as their power failed and they toppled down in an ungainly, unstoppable fall to the planet below. Yondu didn't stay to watch them crash. Peter whooped, through the intercom and Yondu resisted the urge to cackle himself as he spun the ship round and threw them forward into a jump.

Xxx

Peter cackled in the station, watching the rain of ships. That had been so cool. The EMP had been Wiz's invention and in all the time he'd been in the ship they'd only had to use it once before. This was the second time. And this time. He got to be the one doing it. He was basically Luke Skywalker firing into the Death Star.

His stomach lurched as they made the jump into hyper-speed and he grabbed at the seatbelt, buckling himself in and squeezing his eyes shut as the starts started to blur passed. Peter liked flying, but jumps made him queasy. He settled back into the chair. Wiz was gonna be so bummed that he missed the chance to fire his own weapon. Again. Peter snickered to himself. Maybe once they stopped Peter'd –

He went weightless.

Something groaned and crunched and squealed all at once and Peter gagged as the belt drew tight against his neck, choking him as the ship rolled, and his head wrenched painfully to the side with the movement. When it stopped Peter was hanging upside down, ears ringing painfully and neck throbbing.

He blinked. Scrambled for the belt release and hit it with clumsy fingers. It snapped back into place with a whirr, almost whipping him across the face as it slithered back into position. He crumbled to the floor, landing heavily on his hands. He looked around. They were alone.

The ship groaned again and Peter was abruptly reminded of a car crash he'd seen once back on Terra. His Mama had pulled him away, but not before he'd smelled the burning rubber smell and seen the blood.

It was impossible.

Someone had knocked them out of hyperspace.

Xxx

"How many men have you killed?"

Stakar blinked down at the snake child that had been slung over one of Haraks's shoulders and was not peering up at him. He didn't spend much time around children. Specially not children that were quite so…

"Do not answer that." Maris called over her shoulder, not turning her head or making any other move to suggest she had been paying any attention to the conversation behind her.

"Awww."

"No, Chii." Maris turned a corner and they followed.

The ship was weirdly quiet. Stakar couldn't help but wonder where Yondu's crew were. He could hardly man a ship this size with just seven children. Especially when most of them were so young.

"So," The Terran started. "How do you become the big head of the Ravagers anyway?"

"Don't answer that either."

"Mariiiiiiiiiis."

"No Peter."

The Terran grumbled but subsided. Stakar was almost jealous. His crew never shut up so quickly.

They walked in silence for a few more minutes. It was unnerving, being surrounded by the children and Stakar was close to wishing that he'd chosen to stay outside with Nanami. It didn't help that kept hearing footsteps that didn't belong to any of the group and seeing quick flashes of colour in the corner of his eyes though there was never anyone there when he turned his head.

Something shrieked. Nails on a chalkboard. Metal scraping metal. Stakar's hand dropped to his gun.

"I wouldn't." Maris said. Turning one final corner.

At the end of the corridor there was a door, medical if Stakar was remembering the layout of the ship right. In front of the door stood two…creatures. They were feathered and beaked like birds, but their eyes locked onto his with the primal accuracy of a shark as the bobbed up and down letting out a series of screeching chatters.

An answer came from behind and Stakar and he jumped as a third stepped passed him. Feathers the exact shade that he'd seen flicker passed as they'd moved through the ship.

Wiz shuddered, "I know we're related but you are really freakin' creepy." He paused for a minute and then tossed out, "No offence."

The birds let out a rusty cackle and tossed their heads back in what could almost be preening.

"Brother Wiz, I fail to see what was inoffensive about your statement."

"That's cause you suck." Peter snapped.

"I have never done so."

"Oh my god, I don't mean -"

Maris beckoned Stakar forward, shooing the bird-things to one side and opening the door. She seemed content to ignore the argument breaking out behind her and Stakar could not say he blamed her.

He slid into the room after Maris, letting the door swing shut behind him to block out the noise.

The room was just as he remembered. Though most med bays looked basically the same. Two surgical beds had been pulled into the centre of the room. Two young teenagers hovered over one bed, trying to hush a groaning man that Stakar vaguely remembered seeing in Yondu's old crew.

He didn't care.

Because over on the other bed a skinny Xandarian was leaning over a Centurian.

A Centurian with a thick metal pole sticking out of his stomach.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter six

Nayadina whimpered, flung back and forth as the ship rolled. Her back hit the roof with a sharp clang that crushed her vertebrae petals into her back and knocked the air out of her. She landed hard and flung her hands over her head in case the ship lurched again.

It didn't.

An alarm wailed and something, somewhere let out an angry shriek. She pressed her face into the cool metal beneath it, panting desperately. She should move. Try to get her hands underneath her and push up but it was too much effort. Everything felt as rubbery as a liana but with none of its strength.

The metal shuddered and groaned and Nayadina choked back a pained sob as the vent constricted around her. She scrambled backwards, kicking out with her booted feet and managing to slam the vent grill open, slithering through to collapse in an awkward heap of limbs on the floor.

She winced and gently pushed into a sitting position, gingerly stretching out her arms and rolling the joints. They ached. But there was no sharp stab of a break or tear. She bit her lip and wrapped her arms around herself, glancing round. She was on the upper most deck, in almost the dead centre of the floor.

Yondu always said to make sure there were plenty of guards above and below the med-wing because that's where Doc and the seedlings stayed when there was trouble. She couldn't see any of her siblings. She couldn't see _anything_. The lights had gone out and she'd always had terrible night vision. She's Nyctinasty. Night time was a thing that happened to other people.

But she couldn't hear any of her siblings either. No rustling breaths or clanging steps.

And she _knew_ that Drina always took this floor.

She didn't know what had _happened._ Yondu had said they were going to jump and then they'd just crashed. Nayadina scrubbed a hand across her eyes and bit her lip. There was a window. Just a corridor down.

She could see where they were.

"Get up." She whispered, breath hitching round the words.

She didn't move.

"Come on." She whispered. "Get up. You have to get up. You're not hurt. You're not scared, no one is coming to help you. Get up."

Her hands were trembling harder than an autumn leaf as she pressed them to the floor and pushed. The ship buckled and jerked beneath her as she climbed to her feet. The top deck was still empty. She thought. She hoped. She didn't like to imagine someone standing there, in the dark, a whisper of a touch away. She blinked, stretching out her fingers until they hit the smooth curve of the ship's wall and started walking.

Nayadina stumbled forward and almost fell when the ship lurched again. She frowned, trying to orient herself. Was the ship…was the ship going backwards? That -Nayadina shook her head in confusion. That couldn't be right. She must have gotten turned around in the dark.

Although.

It wasn't dark.

Not anymore.

Nayadina blinked, stumbling forwards. The corridor was flickering with a dim, golden light. She frowned, turning the corner and starred.

The window stretched wide in front of her, the blackness of spaced punched through with needle thin flickers of starlight and there, in front of her, a golden light, wrapped around the ship and inescapably pulling them down to a planet that they were far, far too close to. A planet she had only ever seen on a comm-screen.

"Father."

Xxx

"Doc's gonna _die_ " Peter snickered, kicking his legs back and forth on the plastic chair he was perched on.

Wiz glanced over at the Xandarian. Doc did look happy. Well, okay, not happy exactly. But he was certainly preening over some of the equipment. Doc and Maris had overseen the careful movement of Yondu and Kraglin from their ship into some fancy medical facility. Well. Fancy for Contraxia. And even though Doc's attention was still firmly fixed on treating their captain and first mate he was certainly handling the medical equipment with reverence.

"He's already dead, mate." Wiz agreed. "This is like, Doc heav'n."

Peter snickered again. "It's definitely fancier than anything we've got."

"Tha's cause everything we've got is crap." Wiz adopted a haughty expression. "My mama wouldn't pick her teeth on this stuff for a Ha'penny bob."

"Really, 'cause from what I've heard, your mama'll do a lot for a Ha'penny-"

"Shuddup." Wiz shoved a grinning Peter onto the floor.

Nayadina squeaked and drew her feet up onto the chair before Peter could crash into them, squeezing Glim in her hands tight enough that she started to buzz in annoyance. Haracks laughed. Unfortunately, the commotion had attracted attention.

"What are you doing here?" Maris demanded, stalking over. Her tone had even Doc glancing up and the three doctors that were pouring over Kraglin tried to subtly lean further away. Stakar clicked is tongue in irritation and instantly the doctor's snapped their attention back to their work.

"You never said we couldn't come." Wiz pointed out, slamming his foot down onto Peter's stomach as his brother tried to sit up.

"Ow." Peter croaked, falling back onto the ground. "You're a rat-bastard."

"Well, mama never did marry." Wiz beamed, ignoring the way that his siblings groaned at the joke. The very, very old joke.

"Yes, brother Wiz, we are aware of that. Father did not marry any of our mothers and therefore we are all technically -"

"A-hem." Haracks fell silent at the pointed cough. Maris had folded her arms and tilted her head to the side in an expression of extreme, calculated disapproval. "I don't recall giving you permission to follow us off the ship."

It was a testament to how concerned Maris had been that she hadn't noticed them following. They hadn't really bothered to be subtle.

Wiz stuck on his most charming grin, pointy teeth flashing shiny in the light. "Ya didn't say we couldn'." He pointed out, pulling his foot off his brother just as Peter made a swipe for it. He overextended, his hand slamming into the chair leg with a painful crack. Peter swore loudly, cradling his hand to his chest. Maris didn't look impressed.

"They will need to perform surgery. We will require a sanitised environment and I cannot worry about your safety while the captain and Kraglin are being operated on."

"Hey." Peter twisted on the floor, so he could glare up at his sister. "I'm plenty sanitary, I wash."

Glim chose that moment to make a particularly disgusting sounding raspberry noise turning the fizzing purple that usually meant she was going to start melting things. Maris raised an eyebrow.

"Okay. Point." Peter conceded, still looking mutinous.

"Haracks, take your siblings back to the ship."

"Yes, sister Maris. Come on."

Wiz rolled his eyes as Haracks stalked proudly towards the door Nayadina cradled Glim to her chest and leapt nimbly over Peter, offering him a hand.

"This is why you're my favourite." He grumbled.

"Haracks." Maris snapped.

He paused in the doorway. "Yes sister?"

Maris stooped down and scooped Chii and Lana out from beneath the chair they had curled up under, pouring them into Peter's arms. She raised an eyebrow at Haracks. "Do try not to lose them."

"Of course, sister."

Xxx

Stakar had never seen Yondu look so small. Even as a kid the Centurian had bristled with rage that made him seem twice his very runty size. On the operating table he seemed to have shrunk. Almost as skinny as the lanky Xandarian that was carefully tugging a needle through blue skin.

The Xandarian had accepted the nurses help but bristled when one of the resident Doctors had attempted to take over, crouching over the body defensively. The Doctor had given up, joining his team in pouring over the mangled mess of the first-mate's legs under the girl's blank threatening gaze. Stakar had found it worryingly difficult not to flinch at the scratching sound of metal being drilled into straighten the bones.

The Kid – _Doc_ , Stakar corrected himself, there were far too many kids running round for him to keep that straight in his head – was nearly finished. He whipped something across the wound to disinfect it and then, very carefully taped gauze down over he wound.

Stakar let himself lounge backwards in the uncomfortable hospital chair. Doc didn't take the moment to rest, instead snapping at one of the nurses to keep an eye on Yondu and bustling over to keep an eye on Kraglin's surgery. Maris pushed off from the wall where she had been keeping an eagle eye on the proceedings, squeezing him once on the shoulder and letting him take her place as sentry.

She sank into a seat just down from Stakar, only barely allowing herself to sink into it with just a little too much speed to be anything but relief. He had to admire the kids guts. It had been hours since the surgery started, and she'd been taking charge of the ship for gods-knows how long before then and this was the first indication he'd had that she was tired.

Apparently satisfied that Kraglin was safe under Doc's keen eyes and close enough to Yondu that she'd be able to stop the nurse if she tried anything, Maris slipped a hand into her pocket, pulling out a slim handsfree com-device and slipping it over her ear.

"Sanira, report." She didn't yell but her tone certainly expected instant compliance and she didn't once take her eyes off Yondu.

Stakar ran his eyes back across the Centurian, doing his best to tune out the murmur of voices and leave the acting-captain to her crew. Her crew of siblings. Stakar peered critically at Yondu's far too pale skin. For a no-good space-pirate he'd done a good job with his kids.

The prickle of hairs along the back of his neck and a century of hard earned battle-instincts were the only warning he got. Metal shrieked. He lunged back, slamming into the wall that shattered beneath the impact of a knife cutting through it. Dark eyes glared into his own with all the depth and hungry anger of a black hole.

"What have you done." Maris hissed voice the low crackle of ozone before a storm.

"Keep working." Stakar heard Doc snap and shifted his eyes down across her shoulder to see the gun that Doc had trained on the doctors. That was gonna sting his pride later. Presuming he was around to have any. He'd had no idea the boy was armed.

A hand pressed against his collar, crowding him back against the wall trapped between his hand and the glimmer of the knife. Stakar frowned.

"Don't know what you're talking about."

Maris growled low in her throat, the low noise rumbling through his chest. "My siblings did not return to the ship."

Stakar winced. "I haven't done anything." The knife started to move. "Hey." Stakar grabbed her arm, twisting her around and pinning it behind her back in one easy move. He ignored the way Doc's gun twitched towards him, twisting 'til she dropped the knife and shoving her away from him. She spun round, knees bending in preparation to spring. Stakar raised both hands.

"I haven't done anything." Stakar repeated. "But I'm not the only Ravager here."

Xxx

Nayadina was trembling. Part of Haraks was concerned with that. The way her petals shivered and twitched as she cowered behind him. The rest of him was focused on the blood. Peter was bleeding ever so much.

Wix was murmuring statistics, every lesson Doc had ever given them about Terran's and Terran headwounds. Supposedly they bled a lot. Haraks could not remember another incident when Peter had bled like this though. Terran blood was so very red.

His hand felt heavy on Lara's head, but the girl had not moved since they had been brought aboard the ship. Not since she had attempted to attack their kidnapper and Peter had taken the blow meant for her. Haraks should have kept a better hold on her. It was his duty to prevent his younger siblings from harm. Peter had never been so still before either.

From between the bars of the cage he stared up at their kidnapper, burning the image of the man's reddened, wrinkled face into his mind.

"You will suffer for this."

It took a second to realise that the words had come from him.

Their kidnapper turned away from the ship's controls, grinning with pointed teeth. "With what your Daddy's payin' me? I doubt it."

 **I'm very sorry.**


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven

"Evacuation protocols, go, go, go!"

Haraks was already running before Brother Doc's voice had finished crackling across the ship's speakers. Most of his siblings would already be in the safe zone, the little ones cooped up in the medical rooms with many of the others defending the hanger. Haraks was one of the unfortunate few still in danger, still needing to reach at least the hanger before the doors locked.

He passed a window, barely flinching as he saw the star-bright glow of his father wrapped obscuring the glass and pressing closer with an ominous creak. He rounded a corner, bouncing off the metal and keeping momentum. The hanger was only a short distance away and the ship's groans were beginning to reach a higher pitch.

In front of him a figure lay crumpled on the floor and he snatched them up by the back of their jacket without missing a stride, shifting them over his shoulder and dimly recognising them as Elder but Young Sister Vigdis of Asguard.

He took another turn, the hanger doors looming wide open before them, Respected Sister Maris standing in the doorway counting them in. He stumbled forwards as the ship rocked, one of The Sibling Brood brushing passed him in a flurry of feathers and staggered the last few feet through the door.

"Haraks and Vigdis accounted for." Respected Sister Maris barked into her communicator, "who else are we waiting on?"

The communicator whined in her ear and she winced at the feedback, ushering Haraks away from the door. The hanger was filled with his siblings, young ones of every species huddled into anxious groups on the various catwalks or sprawled on the floor near Sister Lelon and Sibling Arax's makeshift triage station. He was briefly taken aback by the lack of Brother Doc but supposed that the older Xandarian must be the one on the other end of Maris' communicator. He handed Sister Vigdis over to them, carefully sidestepping his Kylorian sibling with the obvious broken leg and placing gently on the floor before returning to Maris.

Haraks was not the only one lurking near the door. Brother Peter and Sister Iln had both planted themselves firmly behind Respected Sister Maris, both scanning the corridor for any sign of a slower running sibling. The ship groaned again, and someone screamed as something in the distance snapped, the hollow clang echoing around the ship.

"Stay where you are." Respected Sister Maris snapped and Haraks looked up to see her arm snap out like a knife, cutting across Sister Iln's and Brother Peter's path to the door as the two started forwards. In front of the open door the corridor stretched away and, there, where it turned to the left, a bright glow was flickering.

"Everyone stays back." Respected Sister Maris commanded the order rippling through the hanger in a wave of almost audible tension as Haraks' siblings snapped to attention. His hand darted down to his blaster, still firmly attached to his hip out of the corner of his eye he saw the flutter of movement of hi siblings grabbing their own weapons.

Someone in the distance hollered and Haraks' bristled, ready for a fight, as Eldest Sibling Kraglin barrelled around the turn, pushing Sister Nayadina before him, Brother Chii dangling from the other arm. He shoved Sister Nayadina towards the door and near bowled Brother Chii after her before turning back. Respected Sister Maris darted forward to pull the two firmly into the room and safely behind their older siblings.

In front of them Eldest Sibling Kraglin had turned, blaster held in front of him as Father Yondu fell 'round the corner, arrow a scarlet blur around him as it slashed and stabbed at the light.

Respected Sister Maris' earpiece crackled again and she winced, grip on the door turning white knuckled as Father Yondu fell back. The light glowed fiercer, a piercing white that dug into Haraks' eyeballs until he had no choice but to turn away, blinking black spots out of his vision.

Even blinded he recognised the soft hissing gasp of Brother Peter and the trembling whimper of Sister Nayadina.

Haraks forced himself to squint through the pain and watched as the Light that was their Blood resolved itself into a humanoid figure, glowing dangerously like the spots of a Sea Squid and unfaltering before the deluge of Yondu's arrow and Kraglin's blaster fire.

The creature spoke, to low for him to hear and swatted at the arrow as one would a fly, snatching it from the air and snapping it neatly in half. Yondu lunged forward with a battle cry, and the light – Ego – grabbed him by the arm, holding him high and plunging the broken halves of the arrow into his chest. Kraglin yelled, lunging forward and jumping on Ego who tossed Yondu to the floor the grab Kraglin by the legs.

"What ch'ou waitin' for?" Yondu yelled, head twisted to look at them. "Go!"

Maris faltered, hand hovering over the button to lock the doors.

"You can't." Iln whispered.

"Sister." Haraks murmured, unsure if he was condoning or condemning her.

"That's an order girl!" Yondu shouted, scrabbling for Kraglin's discarded blaster.

Something in Kraglin gave way, snapping with an audible crunch as he screamed in pain and Ego discarded him, turning his attention back to Yondu, his false form smiling in grotesque victory. He raised one foot and pressed it firmly onto Yondu's chest. There was a screech of metal as he tugged something from the wall and, slowly, almost gently but without pause began pressing it into Yondu's skin. Haraks couldn't look away. Maris' arm still blocked the doorway, Yondu'r order was still in place. But that pipe was going all the way through. Soon there would be no Yondu left to disobey.

The hanger was filled with shouting, screaming. Siblings trying to get close to the door, trying to hold the others back, trying to do _something_.

Heat and light radiated out, and for a moment Haraks feared that their father was already there. Then the light pushed outwards, rushing down the corridor and flinging Ego's false form away, disintegrating it as it barrelled down the path.

The light died away and in it's echo Haraks could see their father starting to reform. But he wasn't reformed yet. Ignoring Maris' cry he dashed out, grabbing Kraglin by the scruff of his neck and seeing one of the brood follow his lead, grabbing a beakful of Yondu's coat and dragging him back towards the door.

Kraglin moaned in pain as he was moved but Haraks had no time to be gentle, an arm of light was already reaching for them, blaster-fire from behind Haraks, disintegrating the arm as fast as it could form.

As he reached the door, hands emergered, taking the burden from him and pulling Kraglin to safety. Maris slammed her hand down on the button the second they were through, so close Haraks felt the doors graze his ankle as they closed.

"Get us out of here, Doc." Maris snapped into her ear and the engines rumbled, the front half of the ship breaking away from the rest, rocketing forward into a jump and leaving their father clutching only scrap metal.

Xxx

Wiz was quickly coming to the conclusion that cages were not for him. Besides, what kind of weirdo had a cage readily available anyway. Wiz glowered out at their kidnapper. He carefully didn't think about Peter, who had been rolled into what Doc had once assured them was an important Terran recovery position. He didn't think about the Ravager jacket blotting the blood that poured from his brother's head or the way that Nayadina trembled beside him or the sharp distressed tang of metal and rust that oozed from Glim.

"Hey." He called, leaning forwards, careful not to touch the bars – they had learned that mistake early on and Chii was nursing a nasty burn on his tail from the lesson – "Hey, dipshit I'm talkin' to you."

Haraks placed his hand onto Wiz's shoulder, with a chastising "Brother, Wiz. Perhaps antagonization is not the wise course of action."

Wiz shook him off, "Hey, Hey ugly. Pay attention."

Their captor turned, ugly face furrowed into an even uglier frown.

"Watch your tongue. You are in the presence of the glorious TazerFace!"

Wiz frowned, and Lana snorted, huddling closer to Peter. "'M sorry, the glorious who?"

"TazerFace." The man bellowed again, arms rising.

"…So, is that like a name? Like that's what you're mama called you? You popped outta that womb an' your mama went, looks like a TazerFace Ta' me?"

"It is a name I chose!" TazerFace refuted, spittle flying towards them.

"Um," Nayadina rustled her petals and slid closer to Haraks. "why?"

"That is a certainly a wise question, Sister Nayadina." Haraks said, patting her on the head.

"It is, Metaphorical!" Tazerface boomed, arms rising even higher as I to an invisible audience.

"He does know there's no one else here right?" Wiz whispered, feeling a brief burst of pride as the little ones snickered and even Nayadina flicked her crowning petals in amusement.

There was groan of pain and Wi glanced down in alarm to see Peter rolling onto his back, squinting at the dim lights as though they hurt. "You know," He mumbled, words slurred, "I might not've gone to Middle School, but I'm pretty sure that's not how metaphors work."

Chii let out a crow of delight and went to leap on his older brother, only stopped by Haracks grabbing him by the shoulder's before he could land.

"Yeah," Peter grimaced, Lana propping him up as he uncurled into a seated position. "Let's leave the jumping on big brother Peter until his brain isn't trying to squish out his ears."

Haraks frowned. "That sounds painful, brother Peter."

"Metaphor buddy. Like an actual metaphor."

"Ah."

"Do not ignore me!"

Wiz startled, looing over his shoulder at TazerFace who was glaring at them through the bars.

"Oh, sorry 'bout that. Forgot you were there." He said.

TazerFace growled. And turned back to the pilot's seat. "You will do well not to anger me. We begin our decent. Your father will be with you soon. And your death will come at the hands of TazerFace."

Piece said he seemed content to slump into the chair, and stab at the monitor in front of him, starting their decent.

Wiz swallowed and felt Nayadina slip her hand into his. He clutched back just as tightly. Glim had oozed herself onto Peter's lap as she trembled with sharp citrus fear. Haraks nudged them together, gathering them into a loose huddle. His eyes were pained as he brushed his hands cross their heads as if to remember the feeling.

"What are we going to do?" Nayadina whimpered and Wiz squeezed the hands tighter. The ridges of her petals dug lines into his palm as he tried to squeeze them closer together.

"We fight. We win." Lana declared, chin tilting up and dark eyes glittering with defiance.

"No, sister." Haraks said, brushing his knuckles across her sandpaper skin. "We cannot win."

Lana frowned. "We always win."

"I know, sister." Haraks tugged her fins flat. "here we win by staying silent. Do you understand?"

There was pricking in the corners of Wiz's eyes and he blinked it away, glancing up at the bars so he couldn't meet anyone's eyes.

In his periphery he could see Lana shake her head.

Haraks sighed. "We win by not allowing him to know where our siblings are. No matter what. Do you understand now, Sisters, Brothers? No matter what we must stay silent. If we see a chance to run, we take it. If we see a chance to win, we fight. But no matter what, we do not speak."

The ship whined as its reverse thrusters activated, stopping their decent with a harsh jolt that had them clutching at each other to not fall into the bars. Wiz swallowed the lump out of his throat and tugged Nayadina closer, allowing Chii to wrap around his leg. He hadn't needed the warning to know that they were getting close. He could feel their father thrumming beneath his feet like lightning.

The bay doors opened like grave and in front of them the golden fields of Ego's planet sprawled. Their cell opened with an almost inaudible click as TazerFace pressed a button on the monitor. There was somebody standing in the field beyond. His face was impossible to see through in the light but not even Wiz could pretend that he didn't know who was waiting out there.

"Move." TazerFace snapped, slamming his hand into the bars. "I want my money."

Lana snarled at him on reflex and Peter scooped her and Glim up, staggering to his feet and leading them out of the cage towards the door, ducking away from TazerFace's shove. Wiz followed. What else was there to do?

Together they stumbled down the ramp, towards the one person they had spent their life avoiding the person who was running towards them.

"Oh, thank the gods."

 _What?_

Wiz flinched backwards as their father reached them, hands fluttering across them as though anxious to touch but unsure of how to.

" _What?_ " He tugged Nayadina behind him, squinting at the person. Maybe it wasn't Ego. He had a humanoid form, pale skin and dark, curly hey streaked with grey. Perhaps he was another sibling? One Ego had a purpose for.

"Are you all okay? I could just kill that blue bastard for keeping you from me." Probably Ego exclaimed, reaching out to tilt Peter's face up and examine the injury. Peter flinched backwards, letting Lana drop down to curl around Chii, further away from their father.

"Enough." TazerFac snapped. "We had an agreement. My credits."

"Of course." Ego straitened, waving a negligent hand. "the credits have been transferred to your account. You can check if you want."

TazerFace grunted, turning to stomp back onto the ship. Business done the man clearly had no desire for pleasantries.

"Come on, come on." Ego encouraged, ushering them in front of him towards a large, ornately decorated palace. "I've been waiting so long to show you or your siblings around this place. I may have gotten a little carried away with the decorating but I'm sure that can be changed with time."

Bewildered, Wiz glanced over at Peter who shrugged, apparently as lost as he was. Even Haraks looked vaguely taken aback and his face wasn't particularly expressive at the best of times. For want of a better idea they allowed themselves to be shuffled in the direction of the palace, grabbing onto loose clothing and arms to form an awkward sort of chain – desperate to stay together.

"Oh, one more thing." Ego said, tone turning from genial to cold. Chii hissed slightly and Nayadina rustled nervously. "I do believe I specified unharmed."

TazerFace screamed.

Wiz started to turn but Haraks caught him by the face, keeping him painfully still.

"Do not look." Haraks snapped, head twisted to look behind and grey skin turning pale.

Wiz swallowed. TazerFace was still screaming, the noise swallowed by the grinding of metal and stone. "Yeah, got it. Not gonna."

Haraks nodded firmly, eyes still horrified and fell into pace beside him, placing himself between Ego and the rest of them.

"Oh, I've got so much to show you." Ego said, striding to the front of the group – easily done as Wiz's siblings parted before him. Careful to stay out of arm's reach. "What do you think?"

He waved an arm at their surroundings. It was certainly opulent, golds and marbles and intricate designs. Wiz's fingers ached to pry of some of that fine filigree from the walls. The shimmering pearl could set them up for months.

"I prepared it for you and your siblings when I learned that my seed had born fruit." Wiz wrinkled his nose at the term. Then Ego's face fell. "Then that damn pirate kidnapped you. I've been searching for you ever since."

"We weren't kidnapped." Chii protested with a sibilant hiss, climbing up Lana's back so that he didn't have to slither across the cold marble floor.

"Of course you were." Ego explained, leading them further inside. "'Course that bastard would never tell you the truth. It's all my fault really. I hired him to pick up some of your sisters." He shook his head ruefully. "I should have never trusted a criminal, I just thought it was the fastest way to get them home. Once he had picked them up he started demanding more and more money. Of course I would have paid any number to see your sisters safe but Yondu went crazy. Started saying I had reneged on the deal. Took the kids and ran. Of course I never imagined he'd go after the rest of you just to see me suffer."

He turned back round, gazing at them beseechingly. Eyes pleading for forgiveness.

Wiz swayed backwards, glancing around at his siblings to see that they looked as unmoved as he felt. Nayadina had hidden herself in his shadow and seemed reluctant to come out and Peter had tucked the trouble twins behind his legs where Ego couldn't see them.

Their father sighed. Shoulders slumping. "You aren't buying it are you?"

Haraks raised his chin defiantly. "No."

"Ah well." Ego straightened, face going cold. "The hard way it is."

Wiz didn't see Haraks move but he was in front of them, arms opened wide between them and their father.

Ego rolled his eyes. "Not what I meant. I'm after information."

Lana growled and snapped, "We aren't telling you."

"Well I didn't even ask yet." Ego sighed, staring at them as though they were being the unreasonable ones. "That force that sent me off your ship, who was it?"

Wiz frowned. _What force?_ He'd been near the back of the hanger and hadn't actually had a clear view of the fight between their father and Yondu, just the aftermath. He'd seen a light, but he'd just figured that it was someone dropping a flare or sparkbomb down there.

"There was no force." Haraks protested, shoulders steady. "I am unaware of what you speak."

Ego narrowed his eyes. "I don't like being lied to boy."

"I am not – " Haraks cut off with a yelp as his foot started to sink into the floor beneath him, cursing and struggling to pull himself free.

"Chii, don't!" Peter yelled, as Chii used Lana's shoulders as a springboard to launch himself at Ego, fangs dripping poison and wings spread wide. Wiz darted forwards, trying to pull him back but Chii's tail slipped from his grip.

Ego laughed, backhanding Chii across the face. Their brother landed in a coil and spun to attack again. Ego grabbed the tip of his tail, dragging him off balance like a fisherman reeling in a large catch.

Lana shrieked in outrage and lunged forward, only to be caught around the middle be Haraks, who ground in pain as the movement twisted his foot in its stone prison.

Wiz scrambled for a gun that he no longer had, catching sight of Peter doing the same.

"Ah, ah ah." Ego chided, pressing one foot down onto Chii's neck. "Don't move."

Wiz froze, holding both hands out to the side in surrender. Chii flailed, tail writhing and hands grasping at the foot pressing down on his windpipe.

"You are very brave." Ego commented, peering down at Chii. "Was it you I wonder?"

Wiz didn't dare move. His heart was thundering in his chest and beside him he could see Peter trying to subtly edge closer to Ego, hear Nayadina's soft gasps as she tried to stave off a panic attack, petals rustling.

Chii bared his teeth, a threatening hiss echoing through the near silent room. His feathers flared in defiance, Chii managed to give himself enough room to turn towards Lana and give a hoarse, victorious crow.

Ego shook his head, silent examination over.

"Pity." He said.

And then his foot pressed down.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter Eight

 _Someone was screaming._

 _Yondu winced, feeling the noise bore into his head like a dagweasel in an open vein. His entire body ached and his limbs could have been sewn into the thin mattress he was lying on._

 _There was something about those screams though._

 _He cracked one eye open, wincing as the throbbing in his head intensified. The light gleamed like oil-slick off chrome walls with the cold florescent glow that indicated either a hospital or a lab. Gods he hoped it wasn't a lab. His kids were getting' cheeky enough without having something like this to hang over his head._

 _His kids._

 _Yondu managed to turn his head to the side, to where the screaming was coming from. Pain kept his vision fuzzy but he could dimly make out two shapes pinning a writhing, shrieking white blur down onto a table._

" _No you fucking don't!" He snarled. Something in him tore as he lunged forward out of bed and grabbed one of the blurred figures by the throat, slamming them into the wall. He turned furious red eyes onto the other one only to find the blur already backing up, hand raised._

" _Woah, woah, woah!" Someone said and Yondu snarled again, there was another figure lurking near the door and he hadn't noticed them. His hand dropped to his hip where his holster was conspicuously missing. It was hard to hear through the screaming, but the voice was impossibly familiar._

" _Still as hot-headed as ever, I see."_

 _Yondu blinked furiously and the blur resolved itself into Stakar, standing in the doorway and looking at him with that same irritated, judgy stare that had hacked Yondu off so much as a kid. He was standing in the doorway of what was obviously a hospital and there, on the table, Iln was screaming._

" _Che," Yondu said, dropping the doctor onto the floor in a crumpled heap and making his way over to his kid. His stomach throbbed at the movement but it was nothing to the squeeze in his chest at Iln's screams. He'd failed again. "What happened?"_

" _Your kids flew your ship here after you and your first mate were taken out." Stakar explained, not moving any further into the room._

" _Righ'" Yondu said, dropping heavily down next to Iln and running a hand across her fuzz covered head. "Though' you were gonna kill me if you ever saw my gods-damned treacherous arse anywhere near ya again."_

" _Yeah well, things change." Stakar shrugged, eagle-eyes watching Yondu and the kid. Iln had finally stopped screaming, curling into Yondu's hand with a whimper, tears leaking out from squeezed-shut lids._

" _It was worse this time." Yondu said, examining Iln carefully. "She's normally aware. Never sen her fight like that durin' it either."_

 _Stakar shrugged helplessly. "We dunno what happened. I was talking with your acting captain and all of sudden we got a call saying she'd dropped. The doctors couldn't figure out why and your kids were suddenly up in arms."_

" _Acting captain?" Yondu asked, not looking up from Iln. "You mean Krags?"_

" _Nah, he's in the room next door. He's fine!" Stakar hurried to add as Yondu looked up in alarm. "Just need some rest. Nah, I'm talking about Marin."_

" _Right." Yondu examined Stakar carefully. "What aren't you tellin' me. My kids would never leave one of theirs alone without a good reason. So what exactly got them 'up in arms'"_

 _Stakar winced. "One of the other Ravager captains took on a bounty for your kids and took off with a bunch of 'em. Best bet is he's headed right back to Ego's"_

" _What!" Yondu leapt to his feet, almost crumpling back over at the pain and Stakar took two sharp steps forward to catch him around the shoulders._

" _You need to get back down on the bed or you're gonna tear your stitches wide open and wind right back on that operating table." Stakar scolded, leading him back to the bed._

" _I need to get my goddamn kids back." Yondu snarled back, pitifully weak as Stakar forced him back into the bed._

" _You need to rest up." Stakar said firmly, as if he was still some brat-kid fresh of a mission. "You're no good to your kids dead."_

 _Yondu glared and opened his mouth to argue when he was cut off by the crackle of Stakar's communicator. Stakar turned away, speaking rapid-fire into it before turning to look back at Yondu._

" _I have to go." He said. "We're heading out to get your kids." There was a pause as Stakar met Yondu's eyes. "We will get them back. And when we do, I'm gonna rip the son-bitch who took them apart."_

 _On that he spun and marched out of the room, already barking orders into his communicator. Yondu glared after him for a moment, pressing a hand against his stomach to feel the long line of stitches running hip to rib and swaddled in layers of bandages._

 _Was he really gonna stay safe in bed while his kids were off dying?_

 _Yondu glanced over at Iln. The kid had curled around the spot where he'd been sat, clutching at the empty spot on the table and tears still seeping into her fur._

 _Was he heck._

Xxx

Peter couldn't think. His was swollen in his mouth with the burn caramel of Glim's grief and Haraks was moaning hoarse and low in his throat and Peter did nothing. Could do nothing. Couldn't even blink. Chii was laid out on the marble floor, wings splayed out beneath him, tail limp and head lolling unnaturally to the side, empty eyes staring hopelessly towards where Lana had stood.

Their father sighed. Looked at Chii like he was nothing. Like they were nothing.

"I do so hate it when you force me into these things."

Haraks swore and that was all the worning Peter had as Lana shrieked, the noise rising up into a crescendo of agony, and wrenched herself out of Haraks' grip.

Their father caught her round the waist and held her up to his face for examination as she thrashed and screamed and Peter suddenly realised that she wasn't just mindlessly wailing. There was a word, buried in the sound and repeated again and again and again.

" _NoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNo_!"

"Not you either." Their father said, one hand going to Lana's throat. He was going to kill her. Just like he'd killed Chii. Just like he was going to kill all of them. And Peter was going to watch. That was all he was going to do.

"Wait," Wiz yelled, starting forwards and stopping, "don't, please, just don't."

Their father stopped. Cocked his head to the side and stared at Wiz with something like puzzlement in his eyes.

"Why not?" He asked.

And something inside of Peter bubbled over.

XXX

Wiz flung himself to the ground as a bright light burst from Peter's hands and lashed out at Ego, slamming him back through the wall and miraculously leaving Lana unharmed. He lunged forwards and managed to snag her around the ankle, dragging her back into the protective huddle.

"Brother Peter?" Haraks questioned, twisting his body as far round as he could with one leg still trapped to stare at their little brother.

"Peter?" Nayadina echoed, rustling uncertainly and holding Glim closer. Wiz couldn't blame her. Peter looked ethereal. Stunning bright light spilling from his hands like water and eyes glowing with that same light.

"It's okay, guys." Peter said, his face fuzzy behind the glow. "It's still me."

A deep chuckle came from the wall and Wiz twitched backwards, keeping a firm grip on Lana as their Father pulled himself free. He was beaming as he walked towards them, ignoring the way Wiz and his siblings scuttled away from him so that he could cup Peter by the face.

"My boy," He murmured gently, pressing their foreheads together and smiling softly.

Wiz shot a confused look at Nayadina and was relieved to see that she looked as lost as he felt. Like the personality change was convenient and all, but sort of out of the left field.

"What are you doing?" Peter snapped, jerking his head back as the light finally fizzled out, letting Wiz see the look of profound disgust on his face.

Ego smiled, stepping with him stay in contact. "My boy, you are what I have been waiting for, all these years." He let out a startled laugh. "All those worthless attempts. Of course it would be you." He trailed off, rubbing his thumbs along Peter's cheeks in what could almost be paternal affection. "Of all the women I tried this with, your mother is the only one I loved. Of course you would be the one to help me with my grand design."

Peter flinched backwards, and Wiz watched his eyes flicker passed Ego's shoulder to where Chii's body still lay, empty and abandoned on the floor. His eyes narrowed and Wiz winced at what was about to happen.

"I'm not helping you with anything." Peter snapped. "You killed my brother!"

Ego laughed. Cold. Cruel. "Peter, Peter, Peter." He sighed, shaking his head sadly. "I'm not giving you a choice."

"Look out!" Nayadina yelled.

"No!" Wiz screamed, only a second too slow.

The ground behind Peter buckled and cracked as a tendril of light burst through, funnelling into a point and stabbing Peter through the back.

Haraks collapsed onto his knees and Wiz felt his grip on Lana loosen as Peter hung there. Peter moaned slightly, sagging onto the spear as it hoisted him into the air.

"I have been planning this for centuries." Ego spat, light crackling around his form. "And no one is going to stop me. Not Yondu. Not you. Not these pathetic forms you call life." He spun round to the siblings and pulled his lips back into a snarl. "You hear that! Nothing."

Wiz squared his chin, Pulling Lana behind him and seeing Haraks do the same with Nayadina and Glim. And that was about the time that their ship came crashing through the ceiling.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter Nine 

"Peter! Peter!"

Peter groaned, head lolling to the side as he forced his eyes open. Maris was crouched over him, antennae glowing red and lips pinched tight with worry.

"Wa's goin' on?" He croaked, getting one arm under himself and trying to push himself up.

"Don't move," Maris insisted, scooping him up into her arms. "I've got you."

Peter moaned, low and hoarse as he was moved. His entire body hurt. His eyeballs hurt. His brain hurt. He was pretty sure his soul hurt, though how that was possible he had no freaking idea.

He was dimly aware of gunshots and squinted at the noise. A ship had crashed through the building's opulent ceiling and was letting loose on their Father, spraying bullets at his body to keep him down even as he tried to reform.

"Chii," Peter recalled. "We hafta' get Chii. Gotta give him a Ravager's send off."

"I know, Peter." Meris murmured. "He's already on the ship. We're getting you out of here."

Peter groaned again and let his eyes fall shut again, ignoring the rocking of his sister moving, the crashes of the hall's destruction. He didn't come back to himself until his cheek hit the cool metal of the ship's floor, Doc's too hot hands on his cheeks and rough voice snapping orders.

The floor was grumbling beneath him. Engines whirring to life. They were going to leave.

"Wait!" Peter yelped, darting upright and almost headbutting Doc in the chin. He swayed violently, and it was only Wiz's hands on his shoulders that stopped Peter from collapsing straight back onto the floor. "We can't leave."

"Um," Wiz let out a burst of bitter laughter. "Pretty sure we can. I think leavin' is sort'a recommended in this situation."

"No, no, we can't." Peter protested, trying to stumble to his feet. In front of him, Ego's planet stretched through the window. The once peaceful fields now turned into a battleground, with dozens, maybe hundreds of Ravager ships fighting Ego. "You don't understand, I was in his head."

The cockpit fell silent.

"All those years, all those kids, I know what he wanted." Peter scrambled to explain, "He left bits of himself on each planet he went to and as long as he's alive they can grow. He's gonna turn al the universe into him."

"Shit." Doc cursed, pushing away from Pater and slamming a fist into the floor in an uncharacteristic display of violence. Nayadina bristled nervously and even Lana peeled herself off Chii to peer up at them with large, scared eyes.

"What do we do?" Doc demanded, staring up at Maris who was biting at her thumbnail and staring contemplatively out of the window.

"We stop him." She said, shooing Gears out of the pilot-seat and sliding in herself, firing up the thrusters. "Peter, weaknesses. You were in his head. Give us something to work with."

"Um," Peter scrambled for something useful. "He's not good with widespread attacks. It messes up his concentration. I saw him being made. There's this core thing at the centre of the planet. It's kinda…his brain?"

"Okay." Maris flipped a switch, "Raja, Rava, how're you doing."

The sound of gunfire echoed through the channel and then Rava whooped.

"It's definitely therapeutic." She said.

"Yeah, therapeutic," He brother cut in. "But not actually doing much. It's keeping him from reforming but there doesn't seem to be any permanent damage."

Maris hummed and then tapped the button the opened communications to the whole ship. "Attention. The plan has changed. We have discovered a way to kill our Father. Sanira, Gears, Wiz, Kalan, Drina. Make a bomb. Everyone else, arm yourselves. We are taking the war to him."

Announcement made, Maris pushed the ship forwards, darting up into the air and skilfully dodging the pillar of stone that their father attempted to send up after them.

"Vigdis, Leeah, scan the surface. We need to find a way in."

The bumping of the ship had Peter collapsing in on himself as the movement reminded Peter of the pain that was fizzing in his every nerve. He whimpered, clutching at his chest and tried to curve into an even tighter ball.

"Doc!" Wiz snapped. His red face fading in an out of focus.

"I don'" Peter groaned. "I don' feel too good."

"Peter, Peter?"

The last thing that Peter saw before the world when black was a pair of arms, reaching for him and getting further and further away as he faded out.

Xxx

Peter was jolted awake at the ship jerked to one side, executed a near perfect barrel roll and then stabilised, guns firing the whole time. There was something strapped across his chest and fear pounding in his skull.

He choked on the fear rising like vomit in his throat and scrabbled for the restraints, images of his father's blue light painting themselves across his eyes.

"Brother Peter," Haraks crowed, yanking the steering the side and dodging a falling stone. "You are awake!"

Peter swallowed. He was in the cockpit, strapped into the co-pilot seat. Haraks was driving. He was safe. In front of them something exploded, and he quickly revised his previous statement. Safe as he could be strapped into a ship on a living planet that wanted to kill everything.

"What happened?" Peter asked, scanning the surroundings. They were in some sort of rocky cavern, their father's light flashing all around them and Peter saw his siblings scattered around the cave, flying in their M-ships, battling on the ground, flipping across the air in jet-packs. On one particularly large slab of rock Peter caught sight of Maris, Wiz and some of the more techie of his siblings before Haraks spun the ship around.

"We are battling Father!" Haraks enthused, slamming his hand down and firing a torpedo right into one of their father's stupid, fake, faces.

Peter rolled his eyes, wincing as it shot pain through his skull. "Yeah, I got that."

"After you fainted,"

"Collapsed." Peter interjected.

"Fainted," Haraks continued. "Brother Doc insisted that you be strapped in for your safety. Elder Sister Maris took your words regarding Father's inability to multitask and informed us to scatter and draw his attention while she and our siblings bore through into the soul."

Peter frowned, hands going back to his seatbelt. They were flying conveniently close to the cavern wall and he had his rocket boots on and the warmth of his light glowing beneath his skin.

"I'm going to help." He said, hitting the release and darting out of his brother's reach before Haraks could do more than yelp his name.

Xxx

"How close are you?" Maris yelled, ducking beneath a tendril of light and blasting it to pieces.

Wiz grimaced. The drill wasn't working great. Their father's planet was clearly better protected than they had given him credit. Drina's chemical solution had been more effective, fizzing and spitting as it bubbled through the rock like acid through flesh, but it was still slow going. Their father had buried himself deep.

"Ten minutes," He guessed. "Minimum. We're getting' through it's just there' always' another bloody layer.

"We don't have that time." Maris snapped, the least composed Wiz had ever seen her as her gun was slapped from her hand, spiralling down into the caverns below. Effortlessly she whipped a bow staff off her back and shattered the rock that was attempting to trap her feet, slashing forward and destroying another of their father's bodies.

"Well, we're gonna hafta." Wiz snapped back, hefting the bomb up with one arm. "He's too tough, this ain't doing nothin' unless its directly in on the core."

Something thudded onto the crag with them and Drina yelped, chemicals splashing across her metallic flesh as their father grabbed her by the hair and dragged her back. Wiz lunged forwards, knife already in his hand and then a flash of red burst through the air, exploding through their father's false face, drilling a hole straight through his eye.

Drina staggered backwards, and Kalan grabbed her with all four of his arms, pulling her close before she could follow Maris' gun down the gap.

Wiz was frozen, staring at the oh so familiar arrow that was hovering in front of his face, a suspicious lump wrapped around the middle of it.

"Is that…Duct tape?" He asked.

"I was in a hurry. Weren't really fussed 'bout tha' look of it."

The voice was impossibly familiar and Wiz stared as Yondu, dropped down onto their rock. Skin still a little paler than his usual cobalt and gait slightly more wary, but undeniably Yondu. Undeniably alive.

"Captain!" Maris gasped, kicking the last Ego over the side and turning to stare. "You should be resting."

Yondu quirked a grin at her. "You did a good job looking after these brats. Krag's might hafta' worry he's gonna be out of a job."

Wiz actually, cross his heart and hope to die, saw Maris blush with prize as Yondu reached out to ruffle her hair.

"I didn' spend the last god knows keepin' you lot safe from this jackass to miss the final showdown." Yondu explained, a quick whistle returning his arrow to his side.

"Besides." Yondu continued, cracking his knuckles and rolling his neck. "I reckon' I owe this guy a few broken bones. Or at least whatever this guy has that can break."

Wiz felt a violent grin growing on his own face in response, straitening his back and hoisting the bomb higher.

"You kids get on with…whatever you've got goin' on." Yondu said waving a hand in the direction of their makeshift drill, Kalan's mining explosives and Drina's mad scientist chemical kit. "Me an' your sibling's 'll keep this dick busy."


	10. Chapter 10

**Hey guys, so this is pretty much the second to last chapter. It's a little bit rushed but I start a new job tomorrow and I wanted to get this one finished before I started. Also fight scenes are my absolute arch-nemesis and unfortunately this chapter is basically 100% fight scene. Writing it was basically like giving myself brain surgery with a toothpick.**

The rocky walls of the cavern looked significantly further away with the hanger doors open and Peter primed to jump. He had his rocket shoes, but they were a Wiz invention and Peter wasn't 100 percent assured of their reliability. Especially when standing on a spaceship over giant cavernous depths.

The ship sped up and Peter grabbed at the wall as he was nearly thrown out, cursing Haraks inside his head. The ship lurched again as Peer tried to edge further out. He could almost ear his siblings mocking voices now.

Far below him the Brood shrieked, the five of them fanned out across the rocks, black feathers sticking out easily against the light brown as the lunged at images of their father with a vicious ferocity that reminded Peter of the Spielberg movies.

Ahead of them a jagged outcrop of rock speared out of the cavern walls, headed straight for the ship Haraks spun them out of the way and, seeing his chance, Peter jumped.

He hit the stone hard, soles aching through his boots as they slapped into rock, momentum sending him head over heels in a lopsided roll that had him slamming into the cavern wall. Sweaty hands grasped at rock, fighting against gravity as he pulled himself up onto his feet.

Here he could see the whole battlefield. Not just the snapshots he caught sight of through the ship windows and doors.

His hundred of siblings were spread out across the cavern, each battling the humanoid avatars that their father created. Rock and light flew through the chamber where their father had given up entirely on form and merely shaped his on light and dirt into weapons.

But Maris' plan was working. Even down here the explosions of the Ravager's battle on the surface could be heard. With Peter's siblings so spread out, with the Ravagers keeping him busy above, fighting a battle on a hundred different fronts, Ego didn't have the power to just blast them all off the planet.

Above him, Vigdis let out a hoarse battle-cry and Peter looked up to see her struggling against a pillar of rock that had spread up from her feet and was now creeping up her torso. Her giant Asgardian sword was near weightless in her hands as she swung it at the stone, the metal not leaving so much as a dent.

"Vig!" Peter leapt straight up, his boots thankfully activating and giving him a boost up to her level. The stone had grown quickly and Vigdis' was now encased almost to her shoulders, sword held straight upright and arms trembling with the weight that seemed to sinking her further into the rockface.

"Drop the sword." Peter said, tugging futilely at the stone that was beginning to creep up around his sister's neck.

"Drop the sword?" Vigdis exclaimed. "This sword belonged to my Grandfather, gifted to him for his valiant conduct during the siege of Jotunheim. I would die before I relinquished this blade."

"Yeah, well, you're about too." Peter snapped. The stone was warm beneath his palms, and he could feel that same warmth burning in his own chest.

He knew what to do.

Peter closed his eyes and dropped to his knees. The warmth had always been there, beneath his skin. But it was only here. With his father's memories branded across his mind. That he knew what to do with it.

Peter slammed his hand into the floor, light bubbling from his fingertips and crumbling the stone to ash.

"Woah." Vigdis stumbled as she was released, arms swinging down, sword almost cleaving Peter's head off his shoulders where he knelt before her. "oops."

Vigdis swung the sword back up and propped it against her shoulders, looking pretty damn cocky for a girl that had almost been killed by a rock.

"Thanks for the save, little brother." She quipped, before taking a sprinting leap off the rock, grabbing hold of Gear's M-ship and climbing spider-like across the windshield.

"Hello Peter."

Peter yelped and almost slipped of the ledge, hands coming up defensively as he spun around.

"There's no need for that, is there now. Not between family."

Ego's face for peering soulfully up at him from inside the rock. As Peter stared, he came forwards, a false body melding out of the rock until Ego stood before him. Peter tried to step backwards but his heel hit open air, there was nowhere to go.

"I think there's plenty of need." Peter replying, jutting out his chin, and subtly patting at his pockets for a knife.

"You need to understand Peter, I am doing this for you, for _us._ Human life, Xandarian, Centurian life, it is all just so…Meaningless. And small." Ego spat, his whole-body bristling with his disgust. "But you and I…We can be so much more. We can be everything. The entire universe."

Peter swallowed, hard. Chii had been so young. He had grown up on a spaceship with his sister, Iln's screams echoing in his ears. He had seen the coldness grow darker on Meris' face every time they were just too slow. Every time Yondu had to call off a rescue attempt that was too close to their Father's planet.

"Is that why they had to die?" He asked.

Ego's face cleared into triumph, "Yes, yes. I didn't want to do that. Not to my children. My own flesh and blood. But you have to understand, Peter. They had no purpose. Not like you and I do. There was need for them to exist."

Ego held out his hand, for a second, his form wavered, and Peter could almost believe that his was his mother standing there.

"Take my hand." Ego said. "Peter, take my hand."

Behind him, someone whistled and, keeping his face blank, Peter reached out. A flash of victory painted itself across Ego's face and then Peter threw himself onto the floor as Yondu's arrow whizzed above him.

There was muffed thunk as it sliced through Ego's body and hit the rock behind him and then Yondu was there, jetpack on and seamlessly striding off thin air and onto rock as he hoisted Peter up by the back of his Ravager coat like he was an unruly kitten.

"You." Ego snarled. His face already reforming. Across the way Peter saw one of The Brood victims disappear before they could lunge at it as Ego refocused his attention on this fight.

"Me." Yondu agreed smugly and whistled his arrow back to his side. "'m pretty sure we've had this conversation about you stayin' the fuck away from my kids."

"They are not. Your. Kids."

Yondu shrugged, Peter still dangling from one hand. "Ravager rules. Finders, keepers."

Then he stepped back.

Peter yelped as he was suddenly in the air. Yondu's grip the only thing keeping him from falling.

"You good?" Yondu shouted over the rushing in his ears.

"Yeah." Peter yelled back. "Shouldn't you be in hospital or something?"

"I got out early for good behaviour." Yondu snarked, dodging sideways as Ego tried to collapse a pillar on top of them. "So 'm I getting' this wrong or does daddy dearest want you alive for somethin'?"

If Peter hadn't been hurtling through the air as his megalomaniac father hurtled boulders at them he might have rolled his eyes. "Yeah, he needs me to turn all the galaxy into one big him."

"Right." Yondu drawled. "Well tha's one good thing."

"How's it –" Peter broke off, clutching at Yondu's coat as he darted backwards to avoid a burst of flame. "How's it good?"

"Well," Yondu began as they finally touched down on the large stone platform that made up the cavern's main floor. "We need ta' give Maris' lot enough time to pull of whatever fireworks they've got cooking. And it looks like we just found ourselves some bait."

XXX

It took less than a thought for Ego to create another body. On his surface the Ravager ships were still presenting a nuisance but they were nothing that he couldn't handle. The second he crushed them like the ants that they were, he could smooth over the damage as if they had never existed. Maybe he would dump the tangled skeletons of their ships on Nova as a warning. Then again, with Peter by his side, Nova would cease to exist soon enough.

His spawn scurried throughout his central cavern, dangerously close to his core but keeping them busy was a simple matter. Killing them was slightly harder. He had scoured large portions of the universe, looking for the right combination and the numbers made them…troublesome. Difficult to cull. Without the Light there was nothing that they could do against him. They would join their brothers and sisters within his walls. It was all they deserved.

That blasted whistle came again and, for the third time, one of Ego's bodies exploded. He reformed again with a snarl, pulling versions of himself from the surface to deal with this thieving, blue rat.

As one, the swarms of himself lunged.

Xxx

Peter yelped, ducking to the side and slashing out with his knife as one of Ego's bodies grabbed for him before it dissolved beneath Yondu's arrow.

"Were'd you put your blaster, boy?" Yondu yelled, "This ain't the time to have lost it."

"I got kidnapped," Peter yelled back, ducking out of another Ego's grasp and shanking them in the ribs. "They didn't give me time to pack."

Yondu scoffed. "Taught you better and you know it."

Peter pulled a face and was about to reply when the ground between them rippled.

"Woah!" Peter stumbled backwards as screams filled the cavern, the high-pitched shriek of the Brood rising over the noise like nails on a chalkboard.

"What the F –" Yondu hollered.

A gigantic hand rose out of the ground, Yondu clenched between its fingers in a punishing grip.

"Captain!" Vigdis yelled. She leapt for the hand, sword raised high and snarl on her lips only to be flung back with the crackle of electricity and the smell of burned hair. She slammed into the cavern wall and fell forward. Peter watched, frozen, until he saw Gears scoop her out of the air and to safety.

Another of his siblings leapt forwards and was immediately thrown back.

Their body lay limp on the floor. And Peter didn't know who it was. They were dressed in a flight suit. Helmet, padded jacket. It could have been any of them. Could be Wiz, could be Nayadina, could be one of the little ones who snuck onto the ship in a stolen suit.

It could be Chii. Chii who had fought so hard and been tossed to the ground like he was garbage.

Heat was burning behind his eyes, but it wasn't tears. It was him. His father. The light. Something was burning.

And it was him.

The light bubbled out from him like a wave, spreading throughout the room, tearing through Ego's bodies and crumbling the hand into nothing. Yondu swore as he dropped, grabbing hold of a stone outcropping before he could hit the floor and swore again as it jostled his wounds.

For a moment there was complete silence.

Then someone clapped.

"You see, my boy. This is what I'm talking about."

Peter turned. Ego was stood behind him. Peter scowled, his knees felt weak and he shoved his hands deep inside his pockets so that Ego couldn't see them shaking. He was an illusion anyway. He could have appeared anywhere. He only showed up behind Peter to be overdramatic.

"I don't care." Peter said.

"Peter, my boy," Ego said, walking forward. Again, just to be dramatic. "This is what I'm talking about. This power. Don't you feel it? This power proves that we are worthy of so much more."

Peter flinched backwards as his father came closer. He'd dropped his knife at some point.

"Don't come any closer." Peter said. "I blasted you once, I'll do it again."

"No, you won't." Ego said. "You can't. I am millions of years old, you are a child. You got lucky once, but everything special about you came from me. You think you know what the light can do? Think on this."

Ego slashed his hand through the air and, all around the cavern, spikes began to grow out of the ground, just like the one that had been growing around Vigdis. Stone tombs. The grew everywhere, slicing out into the air and stabbing through the wings of the M-ships, pinning them in place and holding them still.

"Stop it!" Peter yelled. "Just stop."

Ego stopped.

"Well," He said. "Are you rethinking your decision to join me? I could let them live. For you."

"Peter Don't!" Maris yelled and, with a flick of his fingers, Ego silenced her.

"Come now, Peter. I could swallow them whole. It would take less than a second. Just allow myself to grow enough that their mouths and noses are covered. You have already lost one sibling today, Peter. Don't lose all of them."

For the second time, Ego held out his hand. Peter swallowed. It was the whole universe. But it was his family too and they were all he had left. All he had had since they had scooped him up outside that hotel room.

"Hey! Hey Peter."

Peter's head whipped round, almost unconsciously, at his Captain's shout.

Ego snarled and closed his fist, rock started crawling back up Yondu's chest, but Ego had clearly been overestimating his abilities. It was taking longer than he had claimed. Yondu struggled against it but his arms had already been pinned to his sides and it was pointless.

"Oh, I'm gonna catch hell for this." Yondu said, banging his head on floor. "Look boy, these powers you've apparently got. You wanna use them? Stop overthinkin' it. I don't use my head to power my arrow. I use my heart."

Ego laughed. "Some pirate, what kind of sentimental bull –"

Peter launched himself forwards, slamming into Ego and, somehow, taking flight. Around them stone crumbled as Ego was forced to focus all his attention on Peter who had summoned a metal hand as was beating him with it.

For all Peter's power, for all the power Ego claimed to have there was nothing supernatural about their fight. Well, except the flight. They grappled in the air, both trying to flip the other over and take control.

"You could have had the world." Ego snarled as he managed to grab Peter by the throat and toss him to the ground. He landed with a boom, scouring a gouge several feet into the dirt before tumbling to a stop against Yondu's half buried body.

Peter gasped, sharp stabs of pain radiating out from what was definitely a shattered collarbone. Ego loomed over him.

"You know, I waited a long, long time for you to come around kiddo." Ego said. "I think I can wait a bit longer. Now I know all I need is a Terran, I don't need this one."

His boot came down on Peter's neck, just as it had on Chii's.

"You should have taken my hand Peter." Ego said. "Now you are going to die, alongside the rest of these pathetic failures."

"No," Peter choked out. "I'm not."

He pushed up against foot and, against all odd managed to shift it, pushing it back. Yondu let out a soft whistle, Ego flinched back from the arrow and Peter heaved, shoving him off balance and managed to topple Ego over.

His father sprawled on the ground and Peter stood, pressing his own foot down on Ego's throat. Ego hissed, tried to disappear into the stone but a flicker of Peter's light kept him there.

Use the heart, not the head.

His right arm was throbbing, so he held out his left, thinking hard about Saturday morning cartoons with his mum. Slowly, with a great amount of effort, a sword started to form in his hands.

"Peter, Peter." Ego gasped. "You don't want to do this."

Peter frowned. "Why not?"

And the blade came down.

"By the power of Grayskull." He whispered as the blade disappeared.

Ego did not get back up.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter Eleven

 **Oh My god, I can't believe that we're at the end. Thank you all so much for following along with this story and for putting up with my, frankly erratic updating schedule. I have started the sequel to this that covers the events of GOTG and how stuff has changed now that I shook the timeline upside own to hunt for loose change. Thank you all again and I hope to have the first chapter of 'so shall I have mine' in the next few days.**

"Well." Yondu said, shaking off the remnants of a prison of rock that had crumbled as soon as Ego's body had disappeared. "That's, er, tha's really somethin'. Did you jus' kill a planet, boy?"

Peter prodded the dirt where Ego's body had once been. The duplicates had all vanished and, it did not seem that Ego would be making any more. The cavern was silent, even the fighting from the surface had gone quiet. Peter frowned and concentrated on the part of his mind where the light burned. Through it he could hear a faint, rhythmic hum, like someone breathing gently.

"I think he's unconscious." Peter frowned. Before cocking his head to the side. "If I killed a planet, does that mean I can skip this month's cleanin' rota?"

Yondu cuffed him lightly round the back of the head. "It mean's I ain't gonna give you an extra shift for asking."

There was a slight pause where they both eyed the empty rock and the thick gouge that Peter's light-sword had made in the rock. Yondu's hand was still on Peter's head and he patted it awkwardy, ruffling up short blonde hair and ignoring Peter's attempt to wriggle away.

"You did good, kid. "Yondu said. "Real good. Gotta say though, if you ever tell anyone what I said about how I control my arrow I am gonna space ya'."

Peter snickered. "I am absolutely gonna tell everyone I know."

"Mmmh." Yondu seethed. "I'm in a good mood so I'm gonna let the cheek slide. But just this one time."

"Hah, that's' –"

"Okay, this is real sweet an' all but this probably aint the time for it."

Both of them startled at Wiz's voice, spinning round to see him standing behind them, jetpack on and unimpressed look on his face.

"We got our ten minutes." Wiz explained, jabbing a thumb over his shoulder at the rock outcropping he and the others had been working on. "Bombs away, an' all that. Meris' already gave the order to fall back while you two were fighting this asshole."

"Better get going then." Yondu said, hoisting Peter up under one arm like a sack of luggage and ignoring the sharp burn in his side at the movement.

"Hey!" Peter protested, wriggling like a Cach-ti tossed in water.

Yondu ignored him, slapping the on switch on his own jetpack and leaping up to the next outcropping. Peter yelped and instantly stopped squirming, grabbing Yondu's leg in a cast-iron grip and not letting go 'til they reached the top of the cavern and Yondu dropped him unceremoniously on the floor.

Wiz collapsed next to him, laughing so hard that he couldn't stand.

"Shuddup." Peter said, aiming a half-hearted kick at his brother's shins.

The planet in front of them was barren. All the tricks and affections that Ego had scattered across the surface had blown away like dust leaving nothing but an empty rock, scattered with dozens of the children that he had so scorned.

In front of them, the one shadow that blocked the horizon, sat Yondu's ship. Battered and broken but, somehow, still working. The engines hummed and not even the slight splutter to their familiar whine could dampen Yondu's relief at seeing it.

A sharp whistle drew his attention and Yondu scowled at the irritatingly squishy feeling of pride that rose in him at the sight of Maris standing in front of the gangway, every one of her siblings called to attention by the single noise.

"Role call. Meds and kids are accounted for." Maris yelled. "Number One."

There was brief silence. Doc was number two and would already be on the ship with the other medics, prepping for any injured.

"Three."

"Four."

"Five."

Maris was nodding her siblings onto the ship as their number was called, obviously in a hurry but no less conscientious for it. She would make sure that no one was left behind.

"105." Wiz called, ducking passed Yondu and speeding up the gangway.

"Hurry UP." Maris snapped. The ground was starting to rumble ominously, as though Ego was beginning to stir. At her words the ship lifted off the ground, hovering just above the surface in case a speedy exit was required. Maris boosted Wiz up onto it and then immediately lifted Kalan, number 106, by the scruff of his neck and tossed him up.

"107." Peter said and Yondu grabbed him by the collar before the boy could move forwards, activating his jetpack again and shooting them both onto the ship. He instantly dropped the boy again and turned to give Maris a hand with pulling the other kids up onto the hovering ship.

Two of the brood were also there, claws digging into the metal of the floor as they tugged on clothing and weapons, mindful of their razor-sharp beaks as they corralled the youngsters into some kind of order.

"Number 122." Lana said, her gravely voice unusually quiet as a bundle of acid-green and royal-blue feathers were bundled into Yondu's arms. "And- number 123."

Yondu blinked. Staring down at the bundle in his arms. It took a long time. Too long. For him to be able to see through the dread pounding in his head to make out what he was holding. To see the fluffy wings and scaled tail and wide-open eyes of one of the youngest members of his crew.

Next to him Maris had finally finished the call, boosting the last sibling onto the ship and scrambling up herself, slapping the button to close the doors and giving the order for them to take off – following the Ravager army into the sky.

Yondu barely noticed. His fingers had found their way to Chii's neck and had turned to ice at the silence they found there. He had known what he would find before he did. No one had eyes like that and still drew breath.

Lana was still standing next to him. She hadn't let go of Chii's hand, even when she had passed him over and Yondu could feel her shaking. Wordlessly he held open one arm, letting her throw herself against his chest. Chii was cold in his other arm. It was almost bizarre. Being able to hold the two of them so close without them attempting to scratch each other's eyes out. Yondu couldn't say he enjoyed the feeling.

In the end, for all that he had spent years and years of his life dedicating himself to ruining Ego's plans. For all that he definitely considered Ego his greatest enemy, Yondu did not actually watch him die. Instead he sat, his children in his arms, and mourned. For all that Ego had longed for an everlasting legacy his passing went almost unnoticed.

Xxx

For all that Contraxia was an absolute dive, there was one good thing about it; you could always find a bar.

Yondu swirled the glass in his hand, staring into the drink contemplatively.

Kraglin had woken up that morning, just in time to see Chii off. They had lost kids before, failed to get to somewhere before Ego's goons, had to abandon one to keep the rest safe. But somehow, in twelve years, Yondu had never managed to loose one of his own.

The breeze from a hole in the back-wall of the bar sent chills running down Yondu's spine and made his still-healing wounds ache. He downed the shot, nudging the glass towards the bartender for a refill. He was tempted to ask the guy to just leave the bottle. Maris could watch the kids for a day. The issue was that some of the little shits had figured out how to hack the locks so its not like he could guarantee being left alone to sleep off the hangover. Yondu downed another drink, thinking longingly of the time when he'd been considered scary.

Wood squeaked as someone settled in the chair next to him but Yondu refused to look up, gesturing for another drink instead.

"Yondu." Stakar said. He said nothing else.

Yondu twitched, the skinny, centurian kid in him perking up at his captain's attention and Yondu forced himself to roll the tension out of his shoulders.

"What." He grunted. Another drink.

"I'm sorry."

Yondu slammed the glass down onto the table with too much force, shattering it into splinters as he squinted at Stakar in shock. The older Captain had a droopy expression on his face like someone had kicked his puppy or some'in. Yondu grabbed for the bottle and took a swig. There weren't no-way, no-how that he wanted to be sober for whatever this was.

"What ch'you sorry for?" He asked, taking a swig.

"Twelve years ago. I shouldn't have just banished you. You were my responsibility. I should have listened."

Yondu snorted, taking a longer swig. Screw that hangover, that was a problem for future Yondu. "Her name was Skkoyya. Her sister was Dawna. Ego killed them both. Yeah, maybe I didn't know he was gonna kill them. But I still took 'em there. You banished me for dealin' in kids? Well bang on. I did exactly what you said I did."

Stakar shook his head and Yondu shoved down the urge to punch him in his stupid, pitying face. "It wasn't that simple."

"Seems pretty simple to me." Yonde snapped. Skkoyya's marble had gotten lost in all the damage that the ship had taken these passed few days. The only proof that she'd ever existed at all was in Yondu's own memories. He'd seen the cave of bones on his way to rescue his kids. He'd done that. He'd brought her there.

Stakar sighed and reached into his pocket, pulling out a small black box.

"Oh Stakar, you shouldn't have." Yondu quipped, hugging his drink closer to his chest and offering the bartender a gimlet stare when it looked like the other man might attempt to reclaim it.

Stakar ignored him, flipping the lid of the box open.

Yondu's breath froze in his chest. The dim light of the bar flickered against the gold and red of Ravager flames. Yondu swallowed, staring at the pin and hand twitching with the urge to touch an identical patch on his coat. He'd never taken them off, had made sure that all his kids were wearing them, even with the banishment.

Being able to wear them again. _Officially_. Wearing the damn official captain's pin.

"I was wrong, we want you back, Yondu." Stakar said, rising to his feet. "Think about it."

Yondu didn't move as Stakar swept out of the bar. He didn't move for a very long time.

Xxx

Morning was just beginning to break over the horizon when Yondu left the bar. His coat swept dramatically behind him as he stepped into the very centre of the courtyard that his kids had crashed into. His ship was parked nearby. The thing would never be pretty but at least it wasn't likely to explode on take off anymore.

He looked around, then let off a sharp whistle. The sound was perfectly controlled, loud enough to be heard all across the city and just long enough that no one could claim they hadn't heard it.

At the signal kids began to filter into the courtyard, popping up out of buildings, clambering over roofs and haring round corners. The Brood chattered ominously to themselves as the five of them appeared out of the shadows and Yondu caught sight of Illn's furry form scurrying, lizard-like across the stonework. Maris was one of the first to arrive, parking Kraglin's wheelchair at his right side before stepping into parade-rest on his right.

He nodded at her and she steeped forwards, snapping out a brisk "Role Call!"

Movement behind the kids caught his eye and Yondu glanced over as Stakar and Nanami stepped out of a squat building on the courtyard's edge. He saw the exact moment that Stakar caught sight of the golden flames, proudly pinned to his chest. The older man tilted his head in acknowledgement and Yondu nodded back, turning his attention back to his kids just as Nayadina called "157" on Glim's behalf.

In the sudden silence Yondu stepped forwards. "Alright, you brats. One of my buddies down south got word that there's some important ceremony happening down on Ploosh. Lotsa rich folk, lotsa crowds. I hear they're even gonna be showcasing their crow jewels. They got diamonds as big a goose egg on 'em and I reckon that's the kinda wealth that ought to be shared around."

There was a burst of noise from the crowd as the kids burst into laughter and cheers. Yondu smirked, a sharp slash of teeth.

"Oh, oh, oh, Captain!" Peter shouted from the crowd. He had climbed onto Haracks' shoulders and was waving wildly at Yonu, ignoring hi older brother's attempts to dislodge him. "Can I drive?"

Next to him Maris' perfectly controlled face blanched slightly and Yondu let out a bark of laughter.

"No way in hell." He dropped his hand onto the sheath on his hip, the newly repaired arrow humming slightly at his touch. "Now what do you say we go relive some rich folks of their riches?"

Maris fell into step beside him as Yondu made his way onto the ship, pressing something small into his hand in a motion to quick for anyone to catch. Yondu glanced down opening his hand to see what she had given him and almost barked out another laugh.

It was a marble.


End file.
